A Ghastly Epidemic
by FinalMagus25
Summary: Inspired by Magikoopa981. Year 2017. After the defeat of Bowser and the Koopa Kingdom, the Golden Age of the Mushroom Kingdom was about to go underway. However, peace would never be achieved... After sixteen chemical accidents throughout the world, the dead have started to reanimate. Can Mario and co. survive in this damned, dystopian world? Please leave a like/follow and a review!
1. Chapter 1: Pilot (1)

**Hello readers! This is a new, edited version of my first chapter. Before this, our first chapter was a mess, but then Magikoopa981, a friend of ours, as well as a great writer came to help us out. Please leave a review if you think that this was a good first chapter! Thank you, and enjoy!  
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 _ **A Ghastly Epidemic**_

 **By Team ArcanetheGreat  
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 _ **Chapter One: Pilot Part 1**_

 **Prologue:**

The setting for this story takes place in the year 2017. It was a Golden Age for the Mushroom Kingdom. Under the rule of Princess Peach Toadstool, daughter of the deceased King Toadstool, the kingdom reached a record-breaking population of five and a fifth billion citizens. Several new technologies were created by Prof. E. Gadd, including the average automobile, drugs, and around a hundred types of guns. The Mushroom Kingdom prospered...

In spite of this, the tyrannical ruler of the Koopa Kingdom, an over-sized koopa named Bowser kidnapped Princess Peach time and time again. He developed feelings for a her a long time ago you see, and in spite of his wickedness, she was the one person he used to care about. But then along came the Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi. You see, Mario became Peach's boyfriend, which dragged the situation out to the point where Bowser and Mario despised each other. Bowser kidnapped Peach over and over again to genuinely piss him off, and attempt to marry the princess. This ultimately led to her siding with Mario.

Years later, the Mario Bros. grew tired of Bowser's crap, and therefore, a three month long war took place between the Koopa and Mushroom Kingdoms! Fortunately for the heroes, the Koopa Kingdom used much of their resources on kidnapping Princess Peach, rather than developing the technology their enemies had. So on one fateful day, the Koopa Kingdom surrendered and Bowser was captured. The Mario Brothers forced King Bowser to agree to sign a peace treaty between their kingdoms, and two other countries who aided the Mushroom Kingdom in the war, Sarasaland and Subcon.

However, on the day the peace treaty was supposed to be signed, something unexpected drove the world to chaos in a few mere days. Zombies roamed the land, and they would not rest until every single living being was dead...  
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It was a beautiful, sunny morning in Toad Town, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom. Every citizen, whether they were toads or koopas, shy guys or goombas, was excited because today was the big day. What were they excited about? An event that would happen at noon today! The peace treaty signing between the four great kingdoms was going to happen in a few hours. No one could wait for such an exciting event...

...no one except Henry McCallister.

Henry was a twenty-two year old koopa who used to be a reporter for the Mushroom Times. It was a week since he got fired for spreading a rumor about the Koopa Kingdom's secret manufacturing of AK-47 rifles. He was given an anonymous tip that Bowser Jr., the biological son of Bowser was intending to make the guns, and then have them delivered into Mushroom City, the commerce capital of the world. So Henry wrote a report about it, and after being proved wrong, he got fired. Up to this day, Henry regretted what he did. But now, he was going to do something drastic.

Henry was wide awake since 5 AM, searching for the perfect place to get story material from. It was 8 AM, and finally, he found the best place to look for some interesting news. The nuclear power plant outside of town was a very sketchy building, and the only person who could get him in was his best friend, Lucas. Lucas was a goomba who worked at the power plant. If he could get a pass for Henry, then he'd have his shot at getting his job back.

Henry snatched his cell phone from his desk and speed dialed his friend's number. Henry was skittishly waiting for Lucas to pick up his phone, because Henry's job depended on whether or not Lucas picked up his phone...

"Hello?" asked the voice who answered. It was Lucas!

"Lucas it's me!" Henry replied in jubilation. I know how I can get my job back, but I'll need your help."  
_

Gentle sunlight bounced off a window and hit the plumber's eyes. He slowly arose from his slumber, trying to remember what happened in his dream.

"*yawns*..."

Luigi rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed. Today was a brand new day, but it wasn't just any contemporary day. This was the day the treaty signing was going to take place. He was very excited to see Princess Daisy, his long distance girlfriend and ruler of Sarasaland. Luigi longed to see his fiance, his one true love. But all of a sudden-

 **LUIGI! WAKE UP! NOW!**

Luigi shuddered, and he hurried out of his room to see what was the matter. And that's when he saw the clock. 9:49 AM. Luigi's brother, Mario was downstairs, desperately searching for his keys. They were late! They were supposed to be at the castle four minutes ago!

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Luigi mumbled, panicked.

"Haha! Found them!" Mario said as he grabbed his keys, opened his front door and dashed outside.

Luigi was almost ready by the time Mario found the keys, he just needed to find his hat. But just then, he remembered he left his hat in Mario's car.

"MARIO WAIT FOR ME!" screamed Luigi, who was in a much bigger panic.

He darted down the stairs, almost tripping once at the bottom. He headed straight for the front door, which his elder brother left wide open...

Mario's car was on for a minute now. What's taking Luigi so long?, Mario thought anxiously.

He saw Luigi at that moment, locking the front door. Mario honked his car horn, trying to make his brother hurry up and get in the car. So after Luigi locked the door, he sped over to the front passenger seat, opened the car door, and hopped in. Mario however, didn't wait for Luigi to put his seat belt on. The moment Luigi slammed his passenger door closed, Mario cruised out of the driveway at the speed of a bullet.  
_

It was now 9:57 AM. Corey and her boyfriend, Tom sat in their car, kissing. They loved each other so much. In fact, they had the same job. Corey and Tom are both police toads, and they are supposed to be watching the streets for speeders. Fortunately for them, one came. It was a Crimson, 2016 Shroom & Country.

 **VROOOOOM!**

"Oh shoot!" screamed Corey as she immediately ceased kissing Tom and drove after the speeding vehicle, which turned left. It was heading straight for Peach's Castle! Tom turned on the siren, whilst Corey pushed her steering wheel to the left, making a sharp, left turn to go after the speeder. But the moment the red car reached the Princess' parking lot, it's engine stopped. Corey slowed down, and then parked the car.

"I'll handle this delinquent." she said sweetly to her lover.

"You just be careful, okay?" Tom replied. "Just in case..."

Tom tossed a pistol over to Corey, which she caught and firmly grasped.

"I will." she responded.

The toad slowly climbed out of her car, and proceeded towards the red car...

"Sir, this is the police! Vacate your car now!"

The car door opened, and a red plumber came out of the car. A green plumber, who sported a strange bump on his head, slowly climbed out of the other side. It was the Mario Bros.!

"Mario!? Oh my god, I'm so sorry about that. It's just you were speeding so my partner and I chased you to here."

"Yeah Mario. I did tell you not to speed." Luigi berated his brother, still jumpy from Mario's rush. "Doesn't anyone other than Daisy ever listen to what I have to say?"

Luigi ran away from Mario and Corey, and towards the caste to see his sweetheart.

"Anyway..." Corey continued. "I'm going to give you a warning. Drive safe okay?"

"Okay then." replied Mario, who couldn't really care at the moment because he needed to see Princess Peach right now!

So Corey, wanting to get back to her moment with her partner, headed back towards their car, where he waited patiently for her to return.  
_

Mario watched the police car drive off in the distance while running towards Peach's Castle.

"Mario? There you are!" asked a female's voice a few yards away.

The red-clad plumber turned to his right to see her. His true love. Princess Peach ran over to him and embraced him. He hugged her back out of love, and the fact that she was actually squeezing him rather tight.

"I was so worried you weren't coming, so I waited here in this courtyard for you."

"Oh Peach, I'm sorry Luigi and I were late." he apologized. "You see-"

"Don't worry about it." Peach stopped him. She needed no explanation for why he was late. She didn't care what it was. Peach loved him so much she was glad he even came.

"C'mon. We need to be ready in less than two hours!"

"Alright Princess!" Mario answered her.

So the two hurried in the castle to get everyone finished before the ceremony at noon. They couldn't possibly want to wait for the moment to arrive.  
_

Henry and Lucas stood at the main entrance to the Power Plant. Lucas was requesting permission for him and Henry to have a tour of the building. While his friend was working this out, Henry was thinking about the best place to look for a story. He kept pondering where to look...

"Henry, we can go inside! Let's go!" called Lucas.

Henry snapped out of his pondering. Following Lucas, he timidly walked into the power plant, for he had Radiophobia. His best friend was walking far ahead of him, unafraid of and pretty used to this building. Lucas knew he'd be far behind him; he knew about the Radiophobia, so he waited in a nearby hallway. As soon as Henry caught up with him, they walked together. And that's when Lucas asked,

"If you wanted to go here, why are you so scared of this place? It's not toxic on the route we're going on by the way."

"This was the only place I could find that didn't have an entry cost." Henry replied. "I'm almost out of money."

"Aren't there other places in Toad Town you'd rather go to to find a story?" Lucas questioned him, using his impression of a Luigi Death Stare.

Henry responded, "Yes, but I'm positive that my former colleges are always writing about the dirt on everyone in this town."

"Well dude, I..."

Lucas' voice trailed off when a loudspeaker sounded. It was a female toad's voice.

 _"Hello everyone! Work ends at 11:30 today! Be sure to get to the Toad Town Treaty Signing at 12:00, sharp! That is all!"_

After a while, Lucas and Henry reached a room of interest. It was a lab. They quietly walked in and took seats on stools near the entrance. A friend of Lucas', Remy saw them, but smiled and waved. Lucas did likewise. Remy was also a goomba, but he worked in this area, so he was bound to see him. As Remy and co. continued their work on reverse engineering toxic waste, Henry took notes to write a story about. Oh boy! he thought. He was going to be able to get his job back...

...except this happened.

 **KABOOM!**

That sound came from a room close by. It was a mega lab that was right next to their room! Trepidation began to fill the entire facility. Henry quickly pulled the fire alarm.

"Let's go people! We need to get out!" he yelled to everyone nearby.

Henry, Lucas, and several of Lucas' coworkers began to escape the way they came. The entire building was going to collapse, they needed to hurry the hell up! The ceiling was crumbling, fire erupted here and there, and the floor began to break.

They almost reached the exit, they were going to make it! But just then, they reached a catwalk. The second Henry ran over to the other side, it snapped in half! Several of Lucas' friends slipped off the platform, and onto the ground below them. Lucas jumped to try to reach the other side, but was barely holding onto the edge. Henry looked back in surprise. He needed to do something fast. Save Lucas and risk dying trying to escape, or let him fall to his death and escape safely...

"HENRY, HELP ME PLEASE!" Lucas shrieked in horror.  
_

 **End of Chapter One.**

 **Hello readers! Thank for reading chapter one of our story! Please leave a review and follow this story if you like to continue your experience in reading _A Ghastly Epidemic_.**

 **This was the remake of an old version of this chapter. I like to thank Magikoopa981 for pointing out the problems with the original chapter, and for helping us to fix it!**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	2. Chapter 2: Pilot (2)

**Hello everyone! Thank you all for reading the first Chapter of _A Ghastly Epidemic_. This chapter focuses a little more on Luigi, Peach and Bowser than Mario. I'm trying to equal out the four main character's points of view while at the same time, introduce other minor characters with their own points of view. That's part of what the story is about besides zombies trying to eat everyone and all that. So, yeah. This Chapter is mostly about the three aforementioned characters. Also, the intensity of a few of the reactor explosions in different parts of the world killed (and reanimated) more people than the one witnessed in Chapter 1. Many people worked in the reactors, a total of 1/10,000 people. That explains why there will be plenty of zombies in this chapter (and chapters yet to come). Enjoy!**

 _Chapter 2: Pilot Part 2/3_

He was alone... Alone with his thoughts. He knew he was in a difficult position, for his kingdom had suffered an agonizing defeat recently. He had never surrendered to the Mario Brothers before in his entire life; this squall realization came as a shock to him. Now he was the damsel in distress, or was he? Compared to him, toads were short and weak, easy to take out. He could try to make a run for it, but what about Mario and Luigi? The Mario Bros. would stop at nothing to keep him from escaping this dire situation (it was a dire situation to him). And where were his children? He had eight children, all but one were adopted. But would they dare come out of the shadows and help him out with his problem? Likely not. After all, he specifically ordered his children into hiding, in hopes of them being able to free him from his prison. He wondered if they came out of their hiding spot, and started searching for him?

Then... There was a knock on the cell door.

"Hey, um Mr. Bowser?", said the toad guard, "The treaty signing will commence in half an hour. I here to make sure you get your bearings before you go out into the public."

Bowser, irritated, stated, "I'll be ready in a few minutes. I need to think..."

"Well, uh, ok.", the toad guard said sheepishly, "I'll still be here, uh you know... w-w-watching you."

"Whatever.", replied Bowser, laid-back.

He was back to his thoughts. Yes, he had a plan. A simple plan. He's going to bust out when least expected, and make a run for it. If he was lucky, Bowser Jr. and the others would find him and help him recapture Princess Peach... ... ... ... ...He was alone with his thoughts...  
_

It was 11:32, less than half an hour until the treaty signing. Mario was helping Peach to finish putting on her extravagant, pink dress. It needed to be tied at the back. Yes, it hurt Peach, but as long as she looked good, she didn't care about the pain.

"Almost... Got it!", cheered Mario, finishing the back tying, "Man that thing is one hell of a contraption."

"You bet it is.", said Peach, assuaged that the tightening of her dress was finally over.

"So what do we need to do next Peach?", Mario asked.

Peach took out her insanely long to-do list, it was a yard long! She read through everything they did carefully. She proceeded all the way to the bottom.

"Yes, the next objective is to... kiss Mario.", she said. She kissed Mario on the cheek.

"Gosh, princess.", Mario said, embarrassed.

Peach found the last "chore" on the to-do list.

"Ok, final one. It says... Get Bowser from the dungeon. Didn't I already ask a toad to escort him here?"

"I think so-", Mario starts to say. But he gets interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. The sound was coming from the West Wing of the castle. Peach and Mario arrived at the scene, only to find that the toad guards were escorting Bowser like Peach asked.

"Whew. For a second there princess I thought Bowser was escaping.", Mario stated.

"Me too.", Peach said, "Let's go find Daisy and Subcon (for lack of better name) and rendezvous at the castle entrance."

So Peach and Mario split up, searching for the leaders of Sarasaland and Subcon. Bowser, who was still being escorted decided to wait... just a little longer until he would make his escape. As soon as Mario was far enough away, he would disarm the guards-who had guns-and grab Princess Peach from behind. Perfect.  
_

11:48 AM. Luigi was helping Daisy with her dress in a hidden garden Peach created just in case Bowser tried to kidnap her again.

"So how's your Cold War with the Beanbean Kingdom going?", asked Luigi, who just finished tying Princess Daisy's dress.

"Swimmingly!", Daisy answered merrily, "We've managed to trade and get coffee, a rare delicacy that is made in said kingdom. It's not exported anywhere else! We also have a head start in... get this, space travel!"

"What!? Get out of town!", Luigi bellowed in shock, "You have people travelling in space? That's so cool!"

"Yeah! We have pictures of space that we got from a few probes and satellites.", exclaimed Daisy, "I couldn't bring them though, with the treaty signing and all that."

"Don't worry about it Daisy, I see the next time I visit, okay?", Luigi asked.

"Alright then.", Daisy replied.

The couple left the garden and walked over to the front yard. They began talking about Sarasan politics, economics, anything involving Daisy. Luigi loved her, he just never got around to telling her. He might as well just ask her now while he had the chance.

"Now might be the best time to ask-", Luigi started to say, but then a car noise in the town square caught the lovebirds' attention.

A small group of toads, goombas, koopas and shy guys, some dressed in lab coats, limped through town square. Luigi took out his binoculars to see them better. Some of them were covered in blood, while others were foaming at the mouth. Bits and pieces of their flesh looked like they were torn off. Luigi was horrified. How could people looking like that still be alive? It's impossible. He shivered; chattered his teeth. He watched as the group took a right down 1st street, then disappeared.

"What the hell?", Luigi uttered under his breath, still shaking.

"What? What is it?", Daisy asked.

"Those scientists, t-t-th-the-they're dead!", Luigi squealed. He left Daisy, dropped his binoculars and ran into the castle. He started screeching and from room to room, saying "They're dead!" for a few minutes. This was one of the most horrifying moments of his life. How could somebody live when they're dead? After a while, he ran right into Bowser, knocking both of them down.

"Whoa hey! What's the big idea!?", Bowser yelled. Great, he just lost his chance of escape. Some much for kidnapping Peach. But now, he had a new plan...

"Luigi! Are you okay?", asked one of the toad guards escorting Bowser.

"I'm fine-", Luigi said, but by then, Bowser stole one of the guard's guns, grabbed Luigi, and pointed the gun at his head.

"Attack me, he dies!", shouted Bowser.

Luigi was now a hostage. By then, Mario, Peach, Daisy and Subcon arrived, surprised at the scene in front of them. A crowd of other people had gathered in the town square not to far from the driveway. They hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on near the castle entrance. A shy guy's phone beeped, it was 12:00 PM. Noon. Behind them, the group of zombies turned around, hearing the crowd of people near the square. They started to walk over, to start their killing spree.

"Drop your weapons, and I'll release Luigi!", yelled Bowser.

I finally have leverage. I might as well use it, he thought. Bowser finally felt like a god, that he had everything under control. Nothing was going to bring him down. Luigi was freaking out, for he didn't want to die. He hopelessly thought of creating a plan to escape, but no thoughts came that made sure that he would survive. Mario was even more terrified than Luigi, for Bowser was going to escape; he would kill his brother if he wasn't given a chance to escape. Mario was never this scared for his brother in his life. Peach as just as terrified as Mario. She was also worried that the treaty signing would fail (the zombies made sure it did). Daisy loved Luigi, she didn't want him to die. And Subcon? Let's just say he didn't want Luigi to die either. The guards nearby put their weapons on the ground. They couldn't possibly do anything helpful if they refused to do what Bowser said.

"Good.", Bowser said. He shot Luigi in the foot. Luigi yelped and clutched his foot as Bowser made a run for it.

"Fear not kids!", Bowser screamed, "I'm coming home!" Everyone in the area rushed over to help Luigi. Mario, however, started to run after Bowser. Peach however, grabbed him by the collar of his suit.

"Leave him Mario! Your brother is hurt!", Peach ordered.

There were a few people who said "Oh my god!" and "Luigi!" and "Oh crap." Daisy called 911 and Subcon ran back into the castle to get more help.

"Don't worry bro.", Mario reassured him, "You're going to be alright."  
_

Toad, who was part of the crowd, wondered why the treaty signing wasn't taking place. They group next to the castle was too far for him to see, even with his contact lens. He heard a gunshot and could make out. Bowser running from the scene, with everybody coming to help Luigi. Toad pushed past several people, and ran into Peach's driveway.

"Princess!", he screamed, "What happened?"

"Toad! There you are. Luigi got shot in the foot!", she answered, stressed out.

"Oh no! Is he ok?", Toad asked, now worried about the green Mario brother.

"He's fine. Daisy's calling an ambulance to come pick him up."

A loud yell came from the crowd of people. Peach and Toad ran over to see what was wrong. Life flashed before their eyes, are they watched countless civilians get devoured by rotting scientists. A tear passed down Peach's cheek as she and Toad turned back, attracting a few zombies. She silently sobbed and ran straight into Mario's arms.

"Princess, what's wrong?", Mario asked.

"I... I... its-". Her voice trailed off and Toad nudged Mario's arm.

"Mario! It's an emergency!", Toad shrieked, fearful of what could happen next.

"WHAT TOAD!? WHAT?", Mario screamed, alerted by Toad's mood.

"They were eating them! Damn it, they're eating them!"

"Wait, what? Who's eating who", Mario asked, confused. Toads and koopas are eating each other? That didn't sound right.

"WHAT!", Luigi hollered.

Luigi pulled out his binoculars and looked over at the town square. He shrieked at the sight of the zombies' feast. He then tossed it to his brother, who had the same reaction. Then Daisy looked; she gasped and started sweating. She did her best to keep in her tears. She passed the binoculars to the guards, all 6 toads were named: Tyler, Anthony, Peter, Rebecca, Brooke, and Gordon.

"What are we going to do now?", asked Tyler.

"Stand back, some of them are coming.", said Mario.

And sure enough, there were several zombies limping towards them. Mario rushed to punch a toad zombie over, and over, but the zombie kept getting back up. Anthony and Peter were shooting at other zombies. They shot their shoulders and stomachs, but no effect. Brooke aimed at the head, killing a few in one shot.

"Guys!", she screamed, "Hit them in the head! Kill their brains!"

Luigi, Peach, Toad and Daisy stood back; they watched as Mario and the guards attempted to take down the zombies. Peter hoped to stab them with his knife, but he got surrounded.

"AGGGGGHHHHHHH", he screamed as the zombies began devouring him. He was the guard who lost his gun to Bowser.

"Everybody! Move! Move! Move! We've got to get out of here!", yelled Mario to the others.

The zombies that remained continued to devour the unfortunate civilians while Mario hopped into his Cadillac and started the engine. Mario brought Luigi, Toad, Anthony, Gordon and Brooke. In her pink Camaro, Peach brought Daisy, Tyler and Rebecca. They couldn't wait for Subcon, as well as whoever else was still inside the castle. They had to go now. The two cars sped as far away as they could from the castle. Any survivors of the incident either escaped, or were trapped in the castle.

Mario felt ashamed. He couldn't save Peter. He couldn't save whoever else was trapped in the castle. Heck, he couldn't even stop Bowser from escaping, again, not to mention that Luigi got shot in his foot. He felt helpless. All he could do now was drive back to his house and sulk. All Luigi could think about were the zombies. What if they came after him and his friends? He couldn't possibly think about his foot at a time like this. Peach only wished none of this ever happened. Everything was going fine until Bowser escaped and zombies started eating people. She wished that everyone had a good and happy life. She wished the treaty was signed. She wished anything that was not the situation was in now... except death. She wondered, what was she going to do now?  
_

Bowser was a long way from home. 50 miles to be exact. 50 miles away from the only home he's ever known. The Koopa King was standing at a crossroad. There was a gas station nearby.

"A place where I can rest for a while. Good. I think today might just be my lucky day."

The parking lot consisted of four gas pumps, and two cars parked in separate lots. Bowser walked over to the front door, and tried to pull the door open. It was locked, but no matter. Bowser kicked the door three times, third time slamming the door open. He stepped inside to find a couple aisles worth of snacks and cigarettes. Bowser shut the door behind him and walked over to the counter. There appeared to be nobody there... except a reanimated koopa, feasting on a, now dead, toad woman, middle aged. Bowser was appalled at the sight of the dead koopa and its act. He stood there, motionless...

"Ah well. To death with you.", the Koopa King said, punching the zombie's shell, breaking it. It fell over; it slowly turned around. Bowser stood over it, smashing his foot in the zombie's head, crushing the brain. It moved no more...  
_

12 hours later...

Bowser hotwired a blue Toyota truck, and started the engine. In the backseats were backpacks full of honey buns, cigars, etc. His tank was half-full, half-empty. He stared at the way he came, zombies started to follow him. He pondered where he should go next...

He just needed to find his home, and his family. Even though he was lost, he had to try... Bowser started the engine.  
_

 **End of Chapter 2.**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you guys liked/loved it. I'm sorry I couldn't fit Henry and Lucas into this chapter. They will appear in Chapter 3, that's a fact.**

 **So anyway, the new characters I've added to the story will each be important in their own way (except Peter, who died). I've made a list of people who died by what/who. It contains spoilers for those who haven't read the latest chapter, as well as people categorized in some sort of fashion. It's an interesting addition to this story.**

 **Ok, bye. :)**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat: Member #1**


	3. Chapter 3: Pilot (3)

**Hello readers! This is the remake of the third and final part of the pilot chapter of _A Ghastly Epidemic_! I just want to thank you all so much for spending your time reading our first Fanfiction story. It's especially been a dream of mine to write a special story that people would enjoy reading until the end. If you like this story or us, please follow or favorite us and leave a review about a specific chapter!**

 **And one more thing. It's about how the apocalypse in our story happens. The explosion in the power plant causes a chain-reaction that awakens the recently deceased, which is how the apocalypse becomes widespread in the Toad Town area. Because this happened in the most important places in Mario's world, the epidemic spread like wildfire! I just wanted to point that out.**

 **Now, on with the story.  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _**

 _Chapter 3: Pilot Part 3/3_

"HENRY, HELP ME PLEASE!" Lucas cried in fear, wishing to escape where he worked for the last month of his life.

"Hang on Lucas, I'm coming!" yelled Henry, scrambling over to the edge of the broken catwalk. "Take my hand!"

Lucas did as Henry asked, and sure enough, Henry slowly pulled Lucas up and over. Henry huffed and puffed, for Lucas was a little heavy for a goomba. He worked out two hours a day and ate pizza, so he was a rather larger goomba than others.

"Thank you Henry!" Henry's best friend briefly thanked him with relief. "But we need to go, now!"

Henry and Lucas made a break for the exit. Their friend, Remy was close behind them. He took the long way around when he noticed the broken catwalk. Henry noticed him gaining on them, but he didn't care. All he cared about now were his life and Lucas's life. They were several yards from the exit...

 **BOOM!**

A room they ran past exploded! A rapid wave of nuclear fire was was on their tails! They needed to make the home stretch! The moment they reached the exit, they leaped-

 **BANG!  
_**

...

...

...

"Ugh..."

The next thing Lucas knew, the three of them were outside. They survived, or at least, not all of them...

"Hey guys. Is everybody-" Lucas began to say, when he saw something horrible! Remy had second and third-degree burns on his body! Henry was knocked unconscious, and his shell was slightly scorched.

"No no no NO NO NO!" Lucas panicked, trying to see if Remy was okay. He was absolutely not. Lucas checked for a pulse, hoping his friend was still alive...

...but there was no pulse to be found. Lucas was in quite a shock. Remy did not survive at all. He was gone, and there was nothing he could do that could bring him back...

Lucas, shedding tears of sorrow, frantically dialed 911, and skittishly waited for somebody, anybody to pick up. He quickly checked Henry's body for a pulse...

 **Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.**

Henry still had a heartbeat! By then, someone on the other line picked up the phone.

"Hello? I need medical assistance right away!" Lucas began to yell over his cell phone. "My friend got badly injured in this huge accident-"

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the voice on the other line shrieked. It was a female toad's voice. Lucas, perspiring all over his body, ended the call the moment the voice on the other line took her final breath.

What the hell was going on here? This is chaos! He needed to find someone who could help Henry, someone who wasn't And that's when Lucas heard a sound. A weird gurgling sound near his feet. He looked down in dread. It was... Remy!? That's not possible! He was awake, and trying to crawl to Henry...

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Lucas screamed like a little girl.

 _Why was Remy alive!? No, he's dead. He's a zombie!_ , he thought, losing his cool.

He quickly grabbed a nearby pallet knife, and drove it into Remy's skull, silencing him once and for all. He saved Henry's life, but watching Remy die again...

...it broke him. He dropped the knife and broke down in tears. He couldn't believe what just transpired. His undead friend died at his own hands. It was utterly horrifying. Panicking, he quickly picked up Henry (he's been working out for years) and fled the scene. He couldn't look back at Remy's cadaver, he couldn't suffer a panic attack, not while escaping with his best friend.  
 **_**

Zombies were beginning to crowd the streets. There was absolutely no way that anyone was going to be able to safely escape by car. Lucas watched from Henry's living room window in horror as an azure colored toad got himself killed by a resident, reanimated shy guy.

 _This can't be happening..._ , Lucas thought in fear. Today went from Thursday to Doomsday in a matter of hours. There was no hope, no chance for survival for many innocents out there...

"This can't be happening!" Lucas panicked. He grabbed a nearby pillow from Henry's couch and breathed in as much air as possible.

 **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!**

Lucas screamed as loud as he could into the pillow, and then ran off to looked for a weapon in his koopa friend's apartment. But Henry, mind still unconscious, began to stir with uneasiness...  
 **_**

Corey and Tom were making out in their car when-

 **Eeek!**

Cory turned to see the crowd at Toad Town Square quickly get eaten and disemboweled by revenants of recently deceased citizens. It was an abominable sight. So many people, all killed before the treaty signing event. Too much gore to bare witness to. Corey started to shed tears as she clasped her hands over her mouth in dread. In the midst of all that madness, she glimpsed two cars - which each belonged to Princess Peach and the Mario Bros. - speed off at 80 M.P.H. But as she and her boyfriend were distracted-

Zombies began to limp their way towards the police car! Tom, who was behind the steering wheel, fearfully drove in a U-turn, towards the police station, leaving behind a group of emotionless walkers (Walking Dead reference).

Corey was hyperventilating; replaying the dark scene of zombies over and over in her mind is if it just happened.

"Corey?" Tom asked his girlfriend, trying to see if she was going to be okay after the massacre that just occurred. Just for the record, she wasn't.

"Corey? Snap out of it!" Tom shouted, snapping his fingers repeatedly while driving with his left hand.

"What? What? What!?" Corey freaked out, pulling out her pistol in reaction to Tom trying to pull her back into reality.

"Corey, please try to calm down." Tom said, gesturing for her to put the gun away. And she did. But she did not take Tom's advice.

"Calm down? How the **** am I supposed to calm down after watching those cannibals chow down on those innocent people Tom!? Do you seriously think that I'm going to calm down about that? DO YOU EVEN KNOW ME?"

"Corey, relax!" Tom attempted to reassure her. "It was probably just some..."

"Well? What do you think it was?"

"..." Tom couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for what just happened, besides it being a prank by the people before the treaty signing. But telling Cory that was just going to piss her off more. _And why would it even be a prank?_ , Tom thought.

"Well?" asked an infuriated Corey, unaware that Tom started to believe her.

He stopped the car next to the TTPD (Toad Town Police Department) on 1-Up Street. He vacated it; ran over and puked in a nearby dumpster. Corey looked over to him, and felt the need to apologize for her outburst that occurred literally half a minute ago, but thought against it. She was irked with her boyfriend for not realizing that what happened in the town square was no joke.  
 **_**

Cory and Tom stepped into the ruins of the Toad Town Police Department. Every room they stepped through was a wreck, bereft of any living beings that were there in the past. Seeing this place in oblivion depressed the two toads, for their colleges were also dead now. Their fellow policemen, one by one, were all slaughtered in a matter of minutes...

...many were missing, but nineteen, including their friends, Alan and Cherry were dead. It was clear that this was the case as soon as the two protagonists walked into the main room. Blood tainted the floor, smeared the walls, even dripped from the ceilings. There were bodies everywhere. Alan laid dead in the corner of the room, jaw-less and limbless. Cherry was sprawled on her desk, right leg almost completely eaten by zombies. But the strangest sight either of the two toads beheld was that the zombies in the room all had bullets in their heads.

 _There might still be living officers here_ , Corey said in her head. Tom thought the exact same thing as he searched the desks of his former colleges for weapons and tools that could be useful to him and his girlfriend. Corey stared at the body of her former best friend, Cherry. They've been best friends since elementary school, and they always had each others backs, until now. She looked at Cherry, shocked to see her best friend gone to her... forever. And that's when Corey felt goosebumps...

 ***GURGLE***

"*squeal* Tom!" Corey faltered.

Cherry was reanimated, a zombie in the making. The revenant stared at Corey, wanting to taste her blood, feeling it slither down her rotting throat. Corey, uneasiness aching her entire body, clutched her pistol and drew it from her deep pocket. Aiming the gun at her former BFF, the yellow-caped toad slowly walked backwards, and watched as Cherry's corpse crawled off the desk, and desperately army crawled towards her. Tom turned to look at what Corey was doing; her started to panic when he watched what was going down.

"Corey, I know she was your best friend, but she's gone!" he called out.

Corey continued to walk until she hit a wall. Oh no...

"You have to shoot her! Don't let her bite you!"

Corey Kopper didn't want to let her best friend go, and thus, she began to snivel when she said her next words...

"I... I'm sorry C-Cherry."

She looked away as she pulled the trigger twice.

 **BLAM! BLAM!**

The weeping toad, looked to see the bullets have lodged themselves inside Cherry's brain. She was gone for good. Corey crumpled down to the floor, forming a moat of tears around her. Tom sprinted to the crying lady, and hugged her on the spotted. He loved her so much, he couldn't leave her without a shoulder to cry on. Besides, the two fell in love since high school.

"It's ok Cor... Everything will be fine..." he whispered to her, beginning to shed tears of his own.

As they cried in the hallway...

...Alan stirred. Fortunately, but unfortunately as well, he couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't exactly think. He wanted to devour his own kin, but he couldn't help but have the feeling he needed to tell them something...

...

...

Something that would change everything.  
 **_**

Tom and Corey were in their car, supplies they got from the police station in the rear. It had enough gas to get them out of the city. They can't waste any more time than they already have. They had a plan about to be put in motion. While Tom drives the car, Corey needed to warn her sister, Anna about the bloody apocalypse. The cable hadn't gone out yet, so Corey had enough time to text her.

Corey to Anna: _Sis, you need to get out of Mushroom City now! It's chaos over here in Toad Town! Zombie apocalypse disaster!_

Anna, who happened to be texting Corey as well, said this.

 _Corey, please help me! My neighbors and I are trapped in Hotel Mario. You are not going to believe this, but there are frigging zombies crawling through the city! HELP us, PLZ!_

As Tom started the car's engine, he quickly raced away from the TTPD, searching for the Northeastern Exit, an underground tunnel that operated on solar power collected throughout Toad Town. By the time he was one mile within reach of the bridge, Corey got Anna's text.

"Holy crap!" Corey shrieked as she read Anna's plea for help. "Anna's in trouble, but how!?"

Tom said, "I dunno, but we've got an even bigger problem on our hands!"

Corey looked at what was in front of her. Zombies blocked the Northeastern Exit! Tom had to force his car quickly into an alleyway on the left.

"Well Tom, we are going to need to try to get to the North Bridge instead. Go! GO! GO!"

And with that, Tom and Corey took a gas-draining detour to the North Bridge, hoping that it wasn't barricaded by cadavers either.  
 **_**

Lucas knew the streets where dangerous, but he didn't care. This was the only way for him and Henry to escape certain death. He shoved Henry in the front passenger seat, and all the food he had in the trunk. Lucas pocketed a revolver that Henry got from him as a birthday gift, and quickly hopped into the four-wheel drive. Zombies instantly commenced with attacking Henry's car. Lucas rushed to try on getting Henry's to turn on. It was either them or zombies!

It was the sound of the engine that awoke him. Henry began to blink his eyes open, confused about what the hell was happening. The moment he felt awake, he realized what peril he and Lucas were in.

"Ahhh! Lucas, what the heck is going on!?"

"Henry! You're... awake...?" Lucas stammered as he put the car in drive and floored the gas pedal.

Zombies were launched from the car, some hitting their heads on the ground, killed by internal head bleeding. The goomba steered his way towards the North Bridge, where he and Henry would end up meeting our two other protagonists.

Henry began to ask questions, "What happened? Where's Remy? Why is it night while you are driving with my birthday present in your pocket!?"

"Mr. McCallister, I'll explain later." Lucas told him off, too busy to answer Henry's questions. "But right now, I need to get to the North Bridge!"

It took a full sixteen minutes to reach the North Bridge. Henry took his gun back from Lucas, grasping it in his hands. He would wait for the right time to use it. Once the two reached the North Bridge, they spotted a police car already speeding over. _More survivors! Friends or Foes?_ , Lucas had the impression as he started to go a little faster to try and catch up to Tom Toadswell and Corey Kopper's automobile.

Fortunately for the two couples of survivors, zombies didn't completely block off the bridge. And thus, the two cars (both with almost empty gas tanks believe it or not) managed to escape the ruins of their former home, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom...  
 **_**

The two cars ran out of gas when they passed by a nearby cottage, which looked to be built a few years ago. The four survivors leaped out of their respective cars, and pulled out whatever weapons they had on hand - Corey, Henry and Tom with guns, and Lucas with... no weapon. These people hardly knew each other, except for the person they came with; Lucas and Henry were also following the police toads in the first place.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you following us out here?" Corey questioned the koopa and goomba.

Henry did the talking. "I'm Henry McCallister, and this is my friend, Lucas Goomp. We're just residents who were trying to leave town while we could. Lucas happened to find your car driving over the North Bridge and follow you guys. May I ask, who are you two?"

"Officer Tom Toadswell." Tom replied.

"Officer Corey Kopper." Corey said. "We're both from the TTPD, and we do not want any trouble."

"Good." Lucas said before Henry said another word. "We don't want any trouble either..."

Lucas was sweating like crazy, for Corey was aiming her gun at him.

"Wait, I think I know you Henry..." Corey said, trying to put her finger on how she knew the green-shelled koopa standing in front of her. Then it hit her. She read the Mushroom Times newspaper every morning. Guess who wrote the front page?

"Yeah! You're the guy who wrote the headliners for my newspaper almost every morning, until you got fired for digging into illegal stuff concerning the Koopa Kingdom and ending up making a false accusation.

"Yup. That's me." Henry replied before weakly chuckling.

The survivors put their guns away and talked about what was going on during their day today: The power plant explosion, the Toad Town Massacre, the ruins of TTPD, all of it.

"So, how about Lucas and I join you?" Henry asked the police. "Care to tell us why you two left Toad Town?"

"Damn. That reminds me..." Corey said, pulling out her phone and quickly texting Anna:

 _I ran out of gas. I coming to save you, but it will take days for me and Tom to reach Mushroom City. Don't worry, I be over there as soon as I can! Don't die on me._

"Were you texting your sister?" Tom asked Corey as he and Lucas walked into the abandoned house.

"Yes."

"Okay, well let's worry about Anna tomorrow. She'll me okay. I know it!"

"If you say so..."

So the four survivors became friends and spent their night in the abandoned house, all dreaming off the same thing: saving Anna Kopper.  
 **_**

They were chasing him...

He was running through the woods...

Alone...

He began to lose his breath...

The dead were gaining on him...

He couldn't run anymore...

It came to him...

 ***GASP***

Ludwig von Koopa woke with a startled attitude...  
 **_**

 **Well, this is the end of Chapter Three! Remember to leave a review on this chapter and leave a like/follow! But don't forget, things get even more serious from now on.**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	4. Chapter 4: Say It Ain't So

**This chapter is named after a song by Weezer. Bowser even listens to it in his car later in this chapter. Anyway, here it is. Thank You Weezer!**

 **Finally, it's been a few days since the zombies started to roam, so this explains some things...**

 _Chapter 4: Say It Ain't So_

Day One: 5:41 AM.

Mario was up all night. Everyone else was sleeping in his or Luigi's room, or here, in the living room. So yes, the ten survivors are in Mario's house. Mario couldn't sleep, he was still having a hard time dealing with the situation he was thrown into. Mario couldn't think straight either. He was irritated with how bad things have escalated in such a short time. He could only wish that things would blow over and everything would be back to normal. Very unlikely. He took a pop tart that he originally brought with him to the treaty signing, and started eating it.

Peach woke up nineteen minutes later, and went downstairs, finding Mario in the kitchen, sitting on a stool. He was wide awake, unable to do anything but think. Peach walked over, grabbed a stool, and pondered with him. She was unhappy with how things have been going as well. In fact, she only wished that this incident never happened. Poor Peter, poor Subcon. If only they hadn't died, assuming Subcon did die. Unlike Mario however, Peach had a plan.

The Princess travelled everywhere in her country. She knew where every supermarket was, every gun store, etc. She then walked over to Mario's HP Deskjet printer, took a few pieces of paper; then she walked back to the kitchen table. Since neither of the Mario Bros. had maps or atlases, she had to draw various maps of various towns, sometimes even down to the details of a street. Princess Peach was one of the few people around the world who had a photographic memory. She could finish creating these maps in about six hours...

There was a long silence, it lasted for two hours. Peach was done with 3/8 of her maps. Mario was still sitting on the stool next to her, only now, he had fallen asleep. Peach had to get this done. If she didn't, innocent lives could be lost. The silence was broken by the sound of Luigi's footsteps coming downstairs.

"Hey guys.", Luigi whispered.

"Oh, good morning Luigi.", Peach replied, looking up at him before continuing with her work, "I didn't see you there."

"Whatcha doin'?", Luigi asked Peach, he saw the maps.

"I have a drastic plan", said Peach, "But its going to have to work."

"What plan?", Luigi asked. Mario woke up.

"*yawns* Hi Luigi, Peach.", Mario mumbled to his brother and girlfriend.

"Good Morning Mario.", Luigi responded.

"Anyway, to make this short, my plan is for us to steal weapons and food while we're out."

Mario and Luigi's eyes widened.

"WHAT!?", Luigi hollered.

This woke Toad up. He slowly walked over towards the conversation.

"Quiet! You're going to attract the freakin' dead!", Peach whispered, "Are you crazy?"

"Sorry... sorry."

"Wait just a minute here. You're turning to thievery?", Mario butted in.

"The world is coming to an end Mario.", Peach quietly bellowed at Mario, "Do you honestly expect me to sit by and watch as every single one of these survivors are killed because I didn't do anything about it? Do you want me to see you or Luigi, Toad, or Daisy to get eaten alive right in front of me? This is our only chance of survival and you of all people won't take that chance. That initiative. Besides, I'm the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, and I have a higher authority than you! I could force anyone to help me even if you didn't want to."

"So that's just it then?", Mario responded with anger, "You're turning to thievery and abuse? What kind of a princess are you?"

Luigi and Toad watched meekly as his brother and the Mushroom Kingdom Princess argue over this method of survival. Their quarreling woke up everyone except Tyler, who was a heavy sleeper.

"Oh please!", Peach continued, "Explain to me why I'm a royal pain in your ass if you are one to Luigi almost every single day!"

"Oh... I did not see that coming.", said Anthony to Luigi, befuddled.

"Actually, I can think of an abundance of times when you treated your servants as if they didn't mean anything more than a mosquito!", scream Mario. Peach was taken aback.

"You know what? That's it Mario. We're are officially on a break!"

"Do they usually fight over stuff like this?", Anthony asked Daisy about Mario and Peach.

"No. Not really.", replied Daisy, "They are usually great friends together. Why would they fight like this?"

"Beats me.", answered Toad, also bewildered at the scene.

That's it. Luigi had it with Mario and Princess Toadstool (Peach). Of all the ways to peeve him, this had to be it.

"Can you guys stop!?", Luigi screamed over the couple's voices.

Mario and Peach stared at Luigi menacingly. Then they noticed that they attracted almost everybody in the house.

"Um... Hehehe...", said Mario, ashamed of his and Peach's fight. Peach was also flustered. Everyone else (except Tyler) glared at Mario and Peach.

Meanwhile, the zombies outside heard the quarrel and attempted to break down the door.

"Great! Look what you've done guys. Now we're going to die.", Luigi berated the now ex-couple.

Peach started packing her maps into her personal supply bag (which also contains fried chicken strips, fries, and medicine for the road). Rebecca woke up Tyler and they packed up more supplies. The door was being pounded on much harder, for more zombies joined the mob that wanted blood. Everyone except Mario and Luigi were carrying bags. They were each carrying a knife and gun. They exited through the back door.

"Hey you dead creeps!", Luigi called to the zombies, "There's meat over here!"

Luigi lured most of the zombies over to him to make sure that everyone else would reach the cars. While Luigi stabbed a few zombies in the head, Mario shot others on the other side of the house.

"Save your bullets Mario! Stab them instead!", called Luigi, now running from the zombies, towards Mario's end of the house.

Luigi ran to Mario's Cadillac and took a back seat. Mario stabbed a few more zombies like Luigi asked before getting into the same car and starting the engine. Toad, Tyler and Rebecca joined them, while everyone else got in Peach's Camaro. Fortunately, they managed to escape before things got ugly. Too bad the same couldn't be said about Mario's house. Several zombies finally broke down the door and flooded inside.

"No...", Mario said, his voice trailing off.

Great. Just what they needed, for Mario and Peach to tear at each other's throats and attract zombies to their house. Now they had no place to stay.

"Way to go idiot.", Luigi said, furious with his brother.

"Shut up.", Mario responded. He did not want to think about getting into another fight, especially with either his brother or his ex-girlfriend.

Peach was ashamed with herself and Mario for their fight. She meant everything she said though. Now, she and Mario broke up. Too bad for him then, she thought. Mario is better off finding another woman.  
_

Day One: 2:58 PM

Bowser was now only a day and a half away from his castle. He drove for most of the night, but got he four hours of sleep along the way. He fuel tank was running out. If he didn't find another car soon, the tank would become empty in fifteen minutes. He'd have to walk for three more days. Unfortunately, he hasn't seen a car in hours.

Bowser was listening to _Say It Ain't So_ by Weezer. It made him comfortable because as long as it was on, Bowser didn't have to worry. Everything will be fine. He'll find another car, and siphon its gas into his own car. He'd make it to his castle, where hopefully, his kids would be waiting for him. But it wasn't just one other car...

Up ahead, the Koopa King gawked at what was ahead of him. It was a wooden bridge. It was made of strong birch wood, and it was being supported by stone pillars under it. What was on the bridge? Five cars, all blocking his way. The good news was, Bowser found a new source of petroleum.

"This is turning into a lucky weekend for me.", said Bowser with glee.

To keep his car battery from turning off, he exited it without turning it off. He pulled off the first car off the road with ease (I mean Bowser is a giant, brooding figure compared to other koopas. How couldn't he pull the car off the bridge?). It took him five minutes to siphon the gas from that car to his car via tube. He pushed the other cars to either side of the bridge, clearing a path for his car to cross. But first, Bowser needed to siphon more gas. He know had 1/4 of a tank, but it's not each enough to get to his castle without having to walk.

After 15 minutes, Bowser siphon gas out of the next three cars, almost filling the fuel tank to full.

"Almost done...", Bowser said.

However, the song _Say It Ain't So_ was put on repeat. This was Bowser's flaw, for he was now attracting zombies. There looked to a about a dozen closing in on him. Bowser pulled out a wooden baseball bat from his car. He found it at the gas station. Sure, it wasn't the best weapon, but all he had to do was do a few hard blows to the head, crushing it. For every zombie he killed, he had no empathy, for he cared about no one except his family, and occasionally Princess Peach. He mercilessly smashed every single one of their skulls in. He was slightly soaked in zombie blood, it dripped from the head down. With that note, he continued to siphon the last of the gas into his car. He was a monster all right, he was the only person who believed the opposite.  
_

Day One: 5:07 PM

On a highway parallel to the bridge Bowser was on about two hours ago, Henry walked behind his fellow survivors. He was lost in thought, he was thinking about the promise he made to Corey, about helping her find and save Anna. Henry wondered what he was getting himself and Lucas into. Lucas would've agreed, but right now, food was on his (Lucas) mind. The group was rationing their food, making it last longer, but also making Luke's stomach growl. Corey really couldn't less about rationing. Like Henry, she was thinking about saving her sister. How did she know where the group was going? The sun rose in the East and set in the West. To get to Mushroom City, they needed to take roads that lead North. The sun would rise on their right and set on their left. Tom also cared about Anna, but he was hoping the group would find a car and make the trip faster.

Along the way, zombie after zombie started to follow them. Usually, the person in the back, who was currently Henry, had to deal with them, and then get back to the group. They switched every twenty minutes; Tom kept track of the time, making sure that everyone got an equal share of turns.

While Henry was keeping another dead man busy, the others had a conversation.

"Corey, we need to find a car. Walking all day is not helping us.", Tom complained.

"Oh I know.", Corey assured her boyfriend, "That's why I'm looking for one that has gas, and actually has a battery that works."

"What about those cars we passed a while ago?", Tom asked.

"What're you guys talking about?", Lucas said, joining the conversation.

"If we're going to get to Mushroom City, we need an adequate car.", Corey told Lucas.

Corey then said to Tom, "Those cars back there looked too old to be used. Rusty."

"I don't care what the car we need looks like.", answered Tom, "As long as it works."

"And has at least four seats.", Lucas added.

The three chuckled, giggled and laughed so hard, they ended up attracting zombies, which they shot in the head.

"Lucas, that was funny.", Tom replied, "I mean, if we did find a two seated car, what would we do?"

"I wouldn't take it.", Corey said.

Henry felt lonely, he was being left out on the car conversation. It would still be a while before his turn was up.

12 Minutes Later...

The group of four found a car seven seat car, it was a Gray Mazda MPV. This car didn't need hotwiring, for it was left here about a day ago, or at least by the looks of it. They put their bags in the trunk of the car and hopped in. Corey and Lucas were in the front, and Tom and Henry were in the back.

"Finally, smooth sailing.", Tom said, happy that he didn't have to walk anymore for the rest of the day.

Corey, who was at the front wheel, sped away, knocking over a zombie in their path.  
_

Day Two: 3:24 PM.

On the balcony stood a toad, Anna, who looked down at the thousands of zombies below her. She was almost 410 feet from the ground, on the 34th floor. She was in Hotel Mario, a hotel company inspired by the famous plumber himself. She was trapped... trapped with many other people. There were zombies swarming the building, looking for living meat to eat. Anna looked over at Constance (goomba), Jennifer (koopa) and Daniel (shy guy), the people she was stuck in this room with. There was a knock on the door, it was Brian (toad), another hotel survivor. He was carrying bags of grains and vegetables. Jennifer quickly ran over and opened the door long enough for only Brian to get inside. She quickly closed the door after that.

"Jesus man!", Daniel screamed, "What we're you thinking? You could've gotten yourself killed."

"I had to.", Brian replied, "We were running out of food, I had to do something!"

"Such as escape the safe room without permission?", Anna asked, "You scared the crap out of us!"

"I'm sorry guys.", Brian said, "But you have to understand, this is the beginning of the end. We have to do whatever is necessary if we're going to live."

"And as much as we agree with you, we also fear for you!", Jennifer berated, "You would've died if we didn't let you in. Hell, we all thought you were dead!"

"Jen is right Brian, don't be reckless.", Anna scolded.

"Well you know what guys?", Brian asked, "If you don't want me to go out again, that's fine. But you have to accept to fact that we aren't being rescued. We have to survive on our own!"

"Oh you don't know how wrong you are.", Anna said, "My sister, Corey is coming to help us."

"Seriously?", Brian roared, "Do you guys actually believe this nonsense?"

"If Anna says her sister is coming to help us, we have to believe her.", Constance argued.

"Woo hoo! Freedom's at hand!", cheered Daniel.

A loud set of knocks were heard from the door.

"Shhhhhhh! Keep your voices down now.", whispered Jennifer, "I think the knocking is from the zombies. We need to barricade the door. Now!"

Jennifer and Daniel pushed a sofa in the apartment next to the door. Constance, Anna, and Brian moved a piano next to the sofa. They threw a few chairs on top of them. The door was sealed, they were trapped.

"Oh boy...", Said Anna, losing hope, "How will Corey get us out now?"  
_

 **End of Chapter 4.**

 **Thanks again for reading guys! Yes, now I've introduced Anna, along with other survivors. Feel free to comment on what should happen next.**

 **Next Chapter: The Koopalings and Bowser.**

 **Note: No one appears in every chapter, except me, the author.**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	5. Chapter 5: Home

**Hello Guys! This chapter is name after a song by... wait for it... Daughtry! After this, I won't use song names too much for chapter titles. This Chapter is mostly about Bowser's kids, also features Bowser himself. Also, the Koopalings (and anyone else inside Bowser's Castle ) still didn't know about the zombies. That's why Ludwig keeps referring to the zombies as "it" from his nightmare. So anyway, here it is. Thanks Daughtry!**

 **Sidenote: Luigi's foot was wrapped in Chapter 4, so he limped down the stairs, and limp ran to the cars after distracting the zombies. Sorry I didn't include that in the appropriate chapter.**

 _Chapter 5: Home_

Day One: 7:08 AM

In the kitchen, Ludwig was pouring himself a cup of decaf coffee with brown sugar. The nightmare attacked him again last night, the one where the horde of "it" was chasing him. He could never sleep well with that horrid scene in his head. Of course, he didn't know of a magic spell that could take the "It" horde out of his head. He's been trying the past week to rid himself of "It", but so far, he hasn't succeeded. He drank some of the coffee, slowly waking him up.

Ludwig felt a headache, one that he usually got whenever he thought about "It". However, this was no ordinary headache. He felt a vibe (You'd get my pun if you watch Flash), he saw the horde of "It" chasing him again. He cried out and fell onto the floor, dropping the cup (which shattered on impact), and clasping his ears. Larry heard his brother's yell and ran into the kitchen.

"OMG! Ludwig, what's wrong?", Larry asked, worried about his brother. He was probably the only brother who cared about anyone other than himself. He was also the youngest, even though Lemmy was shorter (Lemmy is the third-youngest brother).

"Gahhhh!", Ludwig screamed.

"Somebody please help, now!", Larry exclaimed, "Ludwig's hurting over here!"

A koopa doctor rushed into the kitchen.

"What happened?", he asked Larry, urgently.

"I don't know. I-I heard him s-scream, so I came h-here to see if he was o-okay. Clearly he's not."

"Then you called me?", asked the doctor.

"Ye-Yes. Yes I did.", Larry garbled frantically. Ludwig started to calm down, he was unconscious.

"Will my brother be okay?"

"He will, in time", said the doctor, "I recommend that he should stay in bed until his condition gets better."

"Okay. Thanks Doc!", Larry said, trying to drag Ludwig back to his room. The doctor picked Ludwig up and helped Larry carry him.

"Call me Yager.", the doctor said.  
_

Day One: 12:43 PM

Iggy was tinkering with his brother, Roy's cannon. Now that guns are out, and are faster than bullet bills, Roy was constantly nagging Iggy to make his cannon shoot bullet bills faster. He nagged Iggy for three months, but now he finally agreed to it. Beforehand, Iggy made his sister, Wendy's skating rings sharp, allowing them to cut rather than make weak, blunt strikes. Before that, he made Lemmy's bombs more destructive and Morton's hammer heavier, but stronger. Today, he was finishing up the upgrades to the cannon when he heard screams coming from outside. He stood up and looked out his window, which he opened... and then a horrible scene took place.

"Phil! Get inside and warn the royal family!", shouted a random Hammer Bro, guarding his Hammer Bro. friend against a mob of zombies with another Hammer Bro.

"What about you guys?", Phil asked.

"No time, just go!", said the other Hammer Bro.

Phil ran inside the castle to warn everybody. The other two Hammer Bros. both hit the zombies, some in the head, others in the gut or groin with their throwing hammers. Eventually, the zombies reached one of them and bit him in the neck. Another one got his hand chomped off. Eventually, they were surrounded, devoured. Iggy was traumatized. What in the world is going on? When did people start eating other? Iggy was paralyzed at the bloodbath below him.

The drawbridge was down, so the zombies could cross into the castle...  
_

Day One: 10:28 PM

Bowser was now listening the _Home_ by Daughtry. The more Bowser listened to this song, the faster Bowser started to get to his home. He was only 7 hours away. He had to get there, he just had to. He couldn't waste another day.

His phone rang. It was an unnamed caller. How did he/she know his phone number? Who could be calling at this time of night? Bowser picked it up.

"Who is this?", Bowser asked as calmly as he could.

"Dad? It's me Ludwig! You need to get over here this instant!" Bowser was overjoyed, his son was calling him. But that joy ended the next second. Ludwig sounded like his life was about to end. Hold the phone, he didn't own a phone. In fact, none of his kids owned a phone. How'd he call him?

"Ludwig, what's wrong? Are you guys alright?"

"No. Everything is far from alright! Did you escape Princess Peach?", Ludwig spoke.

"Yes, I did.", Bowser said, "I also shot the green plumber in the foot."

"You did? Nice dad.", Ludwig started to say happily, "But now is not the time. You see uh, how should I put this..."

What Bowser heard next would lead to one of the most heartbreaking moments in his life. You see, what happened was-  
_

Flashback: Day One: 2:36 PM

The Koopalings, Doctor Yager, and Phil were all seated in the huge dining room, either on the table or in the chairs. They were the only people still alive in the castle. Outside both of the doors that lead to the dining room, zombies were swarming into giant crowds. However, they couldn't get in, for Morton and Roy blocked the doors with other various tables and chairs. Only Roy, Morton, Wendy and Lemmy had weapons. While the rest of the survivors were sitting, Larry was scrambling around the room, looking for a secret passageway. There were many inside, outside, betwixt, and between the walls of the castle. Now if the light blue hair Koopa could just find one...

"Hey. Whatchu doin' there runt?", asked his brother, Roy. He was the jock of the group, and also a big pain. He'd constantly attack his brothers physically or verbally, whether or not Bowser was there. He also has a slight New York accent.

"I'm looking for a secret passage bro.", Larry replied, "Wanna help?"

"Larry, you're not going to find any here. Believe me, I tried.", said Iggy. As you readers already know, he's a mechanic. But he also wears glasses, is the nerdiest of the group, and puns every now and then.

"You know what? I really couldn't care less you guys are up to. We're probably dead already.", noted Wendy. She's Bowser's only daughter; adopted too. She likes to be a jerk around everyone, similar to Roy, but she hates him. She hates her entire family, except Bowser. She also glorifies herself (That brat).

"I don't care what you guys think, I'm going to find a secret passage.", Larry continued. He checked two corners of the room already, but no luck.

Phil was speechless, his friends were killed not too long ago. Although Yager kept trying to cheer him up, it didn't work. They all feared for their own lives, except for Larry, who cared about everyone, although he acted like he didn't. Iggy tried to figure out what exactly happened, how it happened, and why it happened. Ludwig didn't want to get attack by "it". How crouched down on the ground. "It" was real. "It" was after him. "It" was going to kill him.

Larry checked a third corner, but there was a secret passage there either. More zombies started to surround the room, the group started to think it was all over. Then, Ludwig stood up. He didn't want "it" to kill him, so he felt that this was the best option.

"Larry, let me help you.", he stated, joining Larry in checking the last corner, which was a bar.

"Guys, this is pointless. There is absolutely no way-", Roy started to say. The bald Koopaling didn't know how wrong he was.

The two brothers searched the wine catalog. Ludwig tried to pull a bottle of red wine out of its place on the shelf, but by trying, a trapdoor and slide opened up from under him. He instantly vanished from the room, sliding down a secret slide. Every else noticed and ran over to go in. After Larry went in however, one of the doors busted open, zombies bursting through towards the remaining survivors. Morton (with his weapon) and Iggy were the next two to go into the trap slide, Roy (with his weapon) following afterwards. Dr. Yager attempted to fend off the zombies, but his arm was bitten.

"Yeaargh!", he yelled, blood gushing down his arm.

Wendy took him with her (and her weapons) into the slide. Only Lemmy and Phil were left. They desperately fought for the slide, but Phil quickly won out, going in next. Then, Lemmy felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

"Aaaggghhh!", he screamed as he went into the trapdoor, leaving his bombs in the dining room. Only a few zombies followed him.  
_

Flashback: Day One: 2:43 PM

Ludwig slid from section to section, the slide turning into a tube. After a while, he was launched outside of the castle, onto the drawbridge. There were a few zombies there left. He had no weapon, but he had a better idea. As Larry slid out, Ludwig started to push "it" into the lava moat. He did the same with "it" after "it", until there weren't anymore left to deal with in the area. Strangely, Wendy and Yager were the next two people out, Yager's arm covered in blood. Wendy put him down, and turned to leave, but Yager grabbed her.

"Wait... please.", Yager pleaded tearfully, "Help me..."

By the time Morton, Iggy, and Roy finally came out, Yager bled out. He died. They stared at him, shocked. Lemmy and Phil were the last two out, brawling with each other. They punched each other in the face, until Ludwig broke up the fight.

"That is quite enough! What were you two idiots doing?", Ludwig asked, confused at their behavior.

"He tried to kill me!", they both declared.

Then all of a sudden, there was an explosion. It was Bowser's Castle. The dining room area was the epicenter, for the zombies touched Lemmy's bombs. Only Lemmy could touch his bombs without them exploding on impact. They all knew it, they should've brought Lemmy's bombs. On the bright side, most of the zombies in the castle were now dead. Almost the entire castle went up in flames, and ruin. Larry felt something in his heart die. The only home he ever cared was gone. It was no more. Where would they live now?

Then Morton gasped and pointed at Lemmy. "Uhhhh, guys?"

"What?", Lemmy asked, unaware that he was bitten.

Everyone else screamed, except Wendy, who almost couldn't care less. All she did was raise her eyebrows, then crouch down near Dr. Yager.

"Lemmy, you've been bitten.", said Iggy, scared.

"Wait, WHAT!?", Lemmy screamed. He looked at his shoulder, seeing his bite. He screeched.

Ludwig glared at Phil. He knew he and his brother were fighting about something. He pushed Phil up against what remained of the castle wall. Everyone looked over to see what was the matter.

"You! What did you do!?", Ludwig barked at the Hammer Bro. Phil was terrified.

"I-I-I uh just w-wanted to live. I didn't want to die.", Phil mumbled, "Please. Please don't kill me."

Ludwig did not care. Lemmy was going to die, and it was all Phil's fault. Ludwig continuously punch Phil in the face, and then he dragged him over to the edge of the lava moat. Larry was shocked. Ludwig completely lost it.

"Lemmy's as good as dead because of you!", Ludwig scolded, enraged. Phil couldn't speak, for his face was pouring with blood. He started sobbing now.

And then it happened. Ludwig hurled Phil into the lava moat with more strength than even Morton or Roy could muster. Phil slowly melted into the insanely hot liquid, and then he was gone. Dead.

Everyone, including Wendy, was surprised. Morton fainted. Lemmy started to cry hysterically. Larry was petrified. Iggy merely stood there.

Wendy, who couldn't bear to look at Ludwig for another second, turned around and stabbed Yager in the head. Now he didn't have to come back as a zombie. Only Roy walked over to help her heave Yager's body into the lava as well. Right as it happened, a book flew out of the doctor's lab coat. Wendy caught it before it fell into the moat. It was a medical book. Not bothering to look into it at this time, she placed it inside her shell.

Iggy started to walk slowly towards Ludwig.

"Uh... Ludwig?"

"Don't touch me.", Ludwig responded.

Iggy continued, "But, bro I-"

"I SAID DON"T FRIGGIN' TOUCH ME!", roared Ludwig, still angry.

Iggy backed away slowly. Wendy and Roy were also looking at Ludwig. They knew it, Ludwig was becoming insane. But Ludwig also found another feeling, fear.  
_

Day Two: 3:19 AM

Bowser parked on the driveway, turned off the music he listened to for the past eight hours, and exited his car. Iggy attempted to greet his father, but Bowser merely pat him on the head on rushed towards the castle ruins. Larry sat next to Lemmy's dead body. Tears streamed down his face, he lost his brother. Lemmy laid there, dead, but not for long. Ludwig was also there, but he leaned next to a wall, arms crossed. There was a dead zombie next to him, his pockets were turned inside out. Bowser sat next to Larry, he started to weep as well. The others were asleep.

Lemmy woke up, but he didn't remember a thing. Nothing. He was nothing, merely a purgatory here to feast, and never stop. Larry crawled back slightly; Bowser stood up, pulling out his gun. Iggy came over to witness what happened next. Lemmy's father didn't want to do it, but he had to take mercy on his soul... The Koopa King couldn't stand for his son walking amongst the undead. He couldn't let it happen...

"I'm sorry."

Bowser pulled the trigger.

 **BLAM!**  
_

 **End of Chapter 5.**

 **Here, I'll describe that rest of the Koopalings. Lemmy was partially insane, due to an accident in his life before adoption (not important). Morton only really thinks about his own life, as well as food. Ludwig is usually the leader of the group, as well as the eldest. He has a British accent. I also meant to leave out Bowser Jr. Why? Because he's in Hotel Mario. I'll talk about that in a future chapter where Corey and Henry reach Mushroom City.**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	6. Chapter 6: Enter Jordan

**Special thanks to RainbowYoshi4Life for reviewing our story! Here is Chapter 6! This chapter is about new OCs, and it will also include Mario, and co. The flashbacks that appear in this chapter will continue in another chapter, preferably Chapters 8 or 9 when they come out.**

 _Chapter 6: Enter Jordan_

Day Two: 8:09 PM

Jordan Camino stood guard outside the unfinished gate, watching for the undead. He was the next one on guard duty after his friend, Akiro. This was only his third night here at St. Toadsworth's Hospital and Medical Center. He was one of the few people here who carried a gun. Here, I will explain.  
_

Flashback: Day Negative Three (that's right, there's such thing): 11:58 AM

Jordan is a 21 year old shy guy; to be exact, he was born on April 2nd, 1996. It would be two more weeks until his birthday. Jordan stood in the crowd with his parents, whom he still lived with. They stood in the crowd, waiting for the treaty signing to take place. He was desperately anxious his the event to happen, but the longer he waited, the more he felt like leaving. His parents were also anxious, but urged Jordan to be patient.

"Mom, when is the treaty signing going to happen?", Jordan asked, looking constipated.

"Hold on Jordan, the princess is probably running a little late. She'll come.", his mom reassured him.

Jordan's phone buzzed (this was partially the reason why zombies were lured here). It was 12:00 PM. The princess was late. Everyone began to mutter, for Princess Peach was never late unless there was an emergency. Whatever problem it was, the crowd began to grow tense. Even Jordan became perturbed; he believed the treaty signing was going to be cancelled. He was right of course, because after a few minutes, the zombies walked by...

Scenes flashed right in front of the poor shy guy. His father's face was being chewed off by a zombie that was looming over him. His mother was being pulled away by other walkers, lost in the commotion. Jordan just stood there, powerless to do anything. He heard many screams, he heard Mario's group drive away, Corey's police car, the sound of a crying baby. He was transfixed on the magnitude of madness, he basically couldn't do anything.

A zombie walked right towards him, about to start ripping off the shy guy's flesh, but then a hand that came out of nowhere grabbed him from behind. He was dragged out of the mania, and eventually, a tenth of a mile away from Peach's Castle. By then however, he fainted from exhaustion. Before he fainted, he had a glimpse of the figure that took him. It was white, but he couldn't make it out...  
_

Flashback: Day Negative Two: 12:08 AM

Jordan woke up abruptly outside of a green, 2015 Honda HRV. He searched his surroundings, only to find himself in the parking lot of a gas station. That's right, it's the gas station that Bowser stopped by. In front of him, he saw a white ghost figure, a boo, roasting a piece of meat over a campfire. The boo looked to be around his mid 50s, male, and a faint mustache. He wore a Stetson, gray and western. The boo looked up towards him and said,

"Greetings. I am Montgomery, a boo who just happened to visit Toad Town."

Jordan ignored him, looking at the campfire. He imagined the horrible scene in his head, and watched as it took place all over again.

"Hey, kid. Hello. Hello? Anybody home?", said Montgomery, waving his arm in front of Jordan's face, which caught his attention.

"So, hey. I saved your life back there at the town square, so your welcome."

"T-Th-Thanks...", Jordan replied, uncomfortable. He still hadn't gotten over the deaths of his parents. But as brutal as they were, at least he's still alive. He had to thank the old man somehow. He also needed answers, such as, "How long was I out?"

"Surprisingly, twelve hours! I've never met someone who could sleep that long before.", Montgomery answered.

They talked for an hour, asking and answering questions about each other. For example, Jordan was an only child, whereas Montgomery had two brothers and a sister. Anyway, Jordan thought of a few more questions.

"Where are we going?"

"I have an idea. It's a hospital, not too far from here. Maybe about half a day away if we go East."

"Twelve hours?", Jordan asked.

"Yes sir. Twelve stinking hours away. Hehehe.", Montgomery replied.

"What?", asked Jordan.

"You were asleep for that long."

"Oh, hahahaha. You're funny dude."

"I know, I know. Its one of my strong suits.", Montgomery stated, "So, we've both rested right?"

"I know I did. Did you gramps?", Jordan said.

"Don't you dare call me gramps, sonny boy. And of course I did. Let's get a move on."

Monty (nickname) put out the fire with a fire extinguisher from inside the gas station. The two had some food packed, food that Bowser was unable to take. Jordan felt half-excited, half-scared. He didn't want to end up like his mother and father, but he wanted to go on an adventure with this random boo who saved his life. He felt like a child again, being taken care of by someone else. As soon as they got in the Honda, Monty started the engine.  
_

Day Two: 8:17 PM.

Peach was driving a fifth of a mile ahead of Mario's Cadillac. Obviously, she was still mad at Mario for being a complete jerk, and at herself for bringing the zombies to Mario's house, ruining it. It was perhaps their only safe haven, but now it was gone. It was the now forsaken couple's fault for destroying their home. Peach, becoming emotional, slammed her fist on the steering wheel, honking the horn.

 **HONK!**

Mario was thinking the exact same things that Peach was thinking. However, instead of honking, he punched a hole in his seat. This didn't change the fact that Mario was mad at Peach. Luigi couldn't even look at his best friends right now. Besides, he had Daisy (and his foot) to worry about. Everyone else in the group was baffled about the big fight Mario and Peach had. That never happened before during their relationship. Now, it was over. They were officially Rachel and Ross (Friends joke).

"Princess? What was that fight back at the house about?", asked Brooke.

She was always curious about news and gossip. In fact, Brooke used to work at a hair salon before getting the job as a Royal Guard. The people who worked there knew literally everything that was going on in Toad Town! They'd talk about the latest rumors and stories that floated around the area. Anyway, back to the present.

"Did you know that Mario's an utter failure of a boyfriend?", Peach asked Brooke, loosing steam. Whenever she heard her ex-boyfriend's name, she'd lose it, "I had the perfect plan for our survival, and the hero of MY kingdom ruined everything!"

Brooke, Daisy, and Gordon, who were all in the car with Peach, leaned back. Oh no, here it comes, Gordon thought. Daisy wanted to comfort Peach, but not if she was about to explode in anger. Brooke felt bad that she asked in the first place. Peach was now going faster, trying to get out of Mario's sight. Mario matched her speed. Peach looked away from the road in front of her.

"Do you know what it feels like to learn that your boyfriend rejected half of the things you do!?", Peach continued, her voice turning dark, "Mario is a total-"

But before Peach could say anything else, she glanced back at the road. There was a horde of zombies trying to cross the street! Peach hit the brakes as fast as she could. As her Camaro stopped, one of the zombies in front of her was hit by the sheer force of the heavy metal, and hit its head on the pavement, dead.

"Oh crap!", Mario yelled, stopping his car in its tracks as well.

The zombies noticed, and they started to surround the cars. Mario and Peach backed up, breaking the zombies' hold. Then Peach did something dangerous. Princess Toadstool set her car to drive mode, and stomped on the gas pedal. The pink Camaro sped up so fast, the zombies were knocked over, some of which were even crushed by the car's tires.

"What is she doing!?", Mario growled, going after her in the same fashion. Everyone else felt like their were about to pee their pants.  
_

Day Two: 8:19 PM

"Ashley, you need to hold still. I can't get this tick off of you if you keep flinching.", said Dr. Sam Walsh, a toad doctor.

"I'll try...", said Ashley, a 14 year old toad patient. She was an orphan, Sam was her adoptive brother.

The building they're in right now is St. Toadsworth's Hospital and Medical Center, a hospital named after Toadsworth, Peach's grand vizier. He helped to increase welfare rights for all citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, whether they were toads, shy guys, koopas, etc. Unfortunately, he died of lung cancer two years before the events of this story. This hospital actually runs on solar power, so the only time it can't use power is during the winter. Anyway...

Sam carefully pulled the tick out of Ashley's arm. She winced. The toad doctor quickly trapped the tick inside an empty water bottle.

"Hah! Not so harmful now are you little guy?", Sam said to the insect, pleased with himself, "Okay Ashley, you're free to go."

"Thank you Sam.", mumbled Ashley, squeezing the doctor.

"No problem. I'm glad I could help."

Ashley skipped out of the room, happy as can be. Sam shut off the light and exited the room after his adopted sister. Sam knew that he and the other survivors here at the hospital were doomed. They only had a section of the shelter cleared out; there were many more zombies in other areas of the hospital. He only wished that they were in a better position than where they were now.

He walked up a hallway where a hospital door was completely blocked off. His friends Jonah (koopa) and Silas (goomba) were keeping guard here, making sure that the door wouldn't bust open. Of course, they need to do that. With how the door was currently blocked, the only use that these two would ever be at this area is to watch for anyone who wanted to compromise this sanctuary. Sam walked over to his friends.

"You guys know that you don't really need to block the area.", Sam said, "The blockade behind you guys can take care of the job for you."

"We know. We're just trying to make sure no one ruins it.", Silas replied.

"No one's going to ruin it Silas. We're going to be fine.", Sam assured him.

"Well...", Silas said, unsure of whether to comply or stay.

"If you insist.", replied Jonah, who knew he had better things to do than to stand there and do nothing.

As Jonah started to walk away, Jordan and Akiro ran by. Akiro could only speak Sign Language, so Jordan did the talking for him.

"Sam, we've got a problem."

"What is the matter?", Sam asked as Jonah walked away.

"There are two cars in front of the gate sir. They're requesting to talk to you and come in.", Jordan responded.

 **Blam!**

"Ok. Take me to them." Sam then said to Silas, "Let's go Si! You don't need to stay there."

The four made their way through the main hallway, and then the lobby. After leaving through the automatic double doors, he saw two cars. A red Cadillac, and a pink Camaro. Outside of the cars stood two humans, Mario, and Princess Peach Toadstool.  
_

Day Two: 8:25 PM

The two cars were a few miles away from the horde of zombies, parked outside St. Toadsworth's Hospital and Medical Center. The ex-couple exited their appropriate cars, arguing yet again.

"Peach, why did you bring us here?", Mario said angrily. He didn't trust the Princess' intentions. The vexed princess then countered with:

"This was one of the places I planned to go. Don't you remember this is the hospital named after Toadsworth?"

"Ummm... Oh yeah. Now I remember.", replied Mario.

A shy guy that stood on top of the makeshift gate called out, and ran into the hospital with his pionpi friend. They were Jordan and Akiro. However, Peach ignored them and continued their argument.

"Mario, this could be our new home. I was trying to make up for your house and the zombies a few miles ago. Are you seriously going to reject my chance of fixing out mistake?"

Mario clenched his fist on a gun he was holding to his side.

"*Grits his teeth* Fine! We'll go with your plan.", Mario agreed before shooting a zombie that was homing in on them.

"Whew. Thank you Mario.", Peach said, relieved.

"But this is not over. Ok? Ok.", complained Mario.

Mario and Peach looked over at the entrance. Jordan and Akiro returned, bringing Silas and Sam. Sam was not only a doctor, but the leader of the hospital survivors. His eyes widened. Mario and Peach looked back at him.

"Are you the leader here?", Mario spoke to Sam.

"Yes. Yes I am. What can I do for you?"

"Please let us in.", Peach pleaded, "Its not safe out here, we need shelter. Please, just help us."

Sam pondered his decision for a while. He wanted to let them in, but he had to consider the pros and cons of his decision. If he let them in, they would surely help their community somehow. But what if they wanted to take control of the hospital for themselves? What if they released the zombies that were blocked off in that one hallway? He thought of a few questions.

"How many of you are there?", he asked.

Peach replied, "Ten."

Ten? That would be a strain on food. Solution: He would decide to ration food until they got more later on.

"Do you guys have anything that can help us? Food? I know you have a gun, maybe ammunition."

Mario responded, "We sort of have food. It's not a lot, but we can make up for it with guns. We've got five of them, and a little more than a hundred rounds of ammo. You could also use our cars if needed. We could go on supply runs, get whatever things we can and come back."

Peach was surprised. The daft plumber finally decided to be smart and listen to her. She won that battle. Sam was also impressed with what Mario had to say. There's just one more question:

"Will you let me be the leader as long as you're here?"

Sam just had to make sure that nothing bad would come to his community of seventeen people. He wanted Ashley to be safe, for her to not live in fear of these newcomers. Luigi got out of the car, hoping things were going alright. As it turns out, they were. Mario and Peach made their final decision.

"Yes.", they said together.

"Okay. Jordan! Please open the gate!"

Jordan, who was once again on top of the makeshift gate, pushed a lever forward. The wood (which had elongated eyeholes) that bared the path to the hospital was pushed out of the way. Sam stood in front of them, smiling.

"Welcome to the Toadsworth Survivor Hospital."

Luigi and Daisy drove the cars in, while Mario shook Sam's hand. Peach simply stood there, saying two words.

"Thank you."  
_

 **End of Chapter 6.**

 **Next Chapter: Henry's group comes across something unexpected on their way to Mushroom City.**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	7. Chapter 7: On the Highroad

**Before you read this chapter, let me say a few things first.**

 **1\. I don't own Mario, or Minecraft.**

 **2\. I will soon come out with a new story that is in the same universe as A Ghastly Epidemic. Its about the hospital after Mario leaves (you'll find out in a much later chapter. Just saying).**

 **Anyway, this chapter is about Henry's group, the Hotel survivors, and the thoughts and feelings of Bowser's family. Mario, Luigi, Brooke, and Jordan also cameo near the end. Also, special thanks to RainbowYoshi4Life and un for supporting this story. Enjoy!**

 _Chapter 7: On The Highroad_

Day Three: 1:01 AM

Henry was driving the car, everyone else was asleep. Tom snored in the front seat, while Corey sat, snoozing in a chair in the middle. Lucas was sprawled on the seats in the back, sleeping is if it was a makeshift bed. Mushroom City was now only two hundred and nine miles away. By car, it would be another three hours until they reached the city. The Mazda MPV was a golden eagle, speeding towards its destination. Henry felt like he was Superman, that he was invincible. He felt like he could save Corey's sister, Anna without much trouble.

It was insanely dark out, meaning Henry had to switch to the brights, a lighter mode for headlights on cars. Henry used contact lens, which helped him to see without using glasses. Even with the help of his contact lens, and the brights, Henry could barely see well at nighttime. He couldn't risk everyone's safety, so he stopped the car, and put it into parking mode.

Henry was exhausted, he drove the car for five hours. He needed some rest. He decided that he would continue driving in the morning. Henry fell asleep.  
_

Day Two: 11:08 AM

Wendy sat in Bowser's Honda, scrolled through Yager's medical journal. I mean, she wasn't interested in becoming a doctor, but it was her only pastime besides mourning over her dead brother, or playing "Attack" with her siblings. She didn't want too think about what happened yesterday. Her elder brother, Ludwig killed the Hammer Bro, Phil, who was also partially responsible for the death of Lemmy. And then her father, Bowser shot Lemmy in the head after he reanimated. She was more scared of Ludwig, who rage killed, than her father, who mercy killed. However, she didn't think that she'd ever be safe again... Not even if she tried.

Iggy was in the same boat, as well as his father's car. He thought he knew his family very well, until yesterday. Ludwig nearly lashed out at him after throwing Phil in the moat of lava around their now destroyed home. He believed that Bowser was more broken than Ludwig was. To kill the revenant of his third youngest son, combined with the loss of Bowser's Castle, greatly disturbed Bowser. Like his sister however, the genius of the group was more worried about Ludwig. Iggy was also irked that he was one of the people in the family that didn't have a weapon.

Morton sat in a car that Ludwig was driving. He was even more panicky about his eldest brother than anyone else in this group. For a second, he even though about jumping out of the car. The fat, grey turtle was the most cowardly, yet he was usually one of the strongest in the family, the others being his dad, and Roy. All he hoped was that Ludwig didn't try to kill him, or the zombies for that matter.

Larry, unfortunately, was sitting next to Morton in the back of Ludwig's Jeep. Larry wasn't scared of Ludwig at all, he was just surprised Ludwig would ever go so far as to murder his brother's murderer. And not in a good way either. Larry was concerned for everyone's safety, but he was sure that it wasn't Ludwig they needed to be safe from. It was zombies. How the hell did they ever come to exist in the first place? How exactly did this happen? Better question, where's Kamek? Kamek was Bowser's vizier and advisor, who was oftentimes one of the Mario Bros. toughest enemies. As a Magikoopa, Kamek learned from every section of magic. Could he have something to do with this? Is that why he left a week ago? To commit genocide using purgatories?

Roy never felt fear every in his life, not even during the two incidents yesterday. In fact, that wasn't even close to what he was thinking about. As a former military general and strategist, he was thinking of the best places for him and his family to move to. Since zombies now roamed the land, he believed that the best place to go would be an overly fortified zone, where zombies couldn't get in. However, he had no idea where such place could be, so he punched Iggy in the face and then looked out for zombies, pretending Iggy was just faking himself getting hurt.

Ludwig didn't know what his siblings thought about him, but he knew he went to far yesterday. He felt fear for his brother, Lemmy yesterday, motivating him to attack Phil. His fear turned to hatred, boosting the strength he used to toss the Hammer Bro into Bowser's lava moat, killing him. Ludwig felt horrified of himself, of what he had become. He was a killer. And with every hour, Ludwig became slightly more of a psycho.

Bowser was melancholy, very melancholy. But he couldn't show that to his kids. He had to show that he was strong, that he was tough enough to get through this. He couldn't show his emotions to his only pupils. He had to set an example. He was a former king after all. But then again, he didn't feel like a king. Killing his son's zombie made sure of that. He needed to know where they should go next. He tried to think of somewhere in the Koopa Kingdom, but was behind in terms of guns and cars. Subcon must've been a madhouse, and he didn't feel like sweat his butt off in Sarasaland. That left the Mushroom Kingdom. But where? Then he remembered. His only biological son, Bowser Jr., was hiding at Hotel Mario in Mushroom City. Junior was planning to pull a series of crimes and he'd only stop if his father was set free. Of course, that plan was never put into effect, for at that moment, zombies started to take over the world. Bowser knew where he needed to go. He dialed his son, Ludwig's number.

"Ludwig, follow me.", he spoke.

"Where?", Ludwig asked, not suspecting anything wrong. But then he shivered at what his father said.

"We need to go to Mushroom City to save Junior. Mind telling Mort and Larry that for me?"

"N-N-No, not at all. I'll tell them."

"Good.", Bowser said, grinning.

Wendy, Iggy, and Roy heard the whole thing.

This can't be good, Iggy thought.

The Honda and the Jeep drove through the street, towards the Mushroom-Koopa Kingdom Border...  
_

Day Two: 4:42 PM

Brian was climbing a Metal staircase, trying to get to someone else's room. Anna and the others protested to letting Brian do this. He was in enough danger already because of his food dash earlier today. Did he have some kind of death wish? Anna hoped that she could finally talk some sense into him. While the others followed Brian, Constance was too lazy (and fat) to get up and help them. Anna and Jen were climbing after Brian, with Daniel cautiously following after them. All three were far behind their koopa friend.

"Brian, wait! What are you doing?", yelled Anna to her friend.

"I'm looking for a detour! So stay back.", Brian replied, "I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"Well we don't want the same thing to happen to you idiot!", Jennifer called out, irritated with Brian's Second Crusade.

"Just leave, ok?", Brian asked them. He was at an unlocked window. "Finally."

He opened it as quickly as he could, and then he struggled inside. The room he was in looked similar to Anna's, but it was messier. Almost all of the furniture was piled up against the door, which was also being pounded on by zombies. Food stains covered a fourth of the carpet he was standing on. Then, out from the kitchen door walked a koopa. But he wasn't just any koopa.

"Hey! Who are you, and what the crud are you doing in MY apartment?", raged Bowser Jr.

"I-I uh-"

But Brian didn't continue. He was scared of Bowser Jr., the greediest of the Koopa Kids, and Bowser's only non-adoptive son. Bowser Jr. didn't even stop to think who this complete stranger could be, or why he climbed up to his apartment. Brian was trying to fumble out the window, freaking out. Without a second thought, the Koopa Kid pushed Brian out the window. Brian stumbled and leaned over the metal staircase's railing. Just as Anna and Jen caught up with their friend, he plummeted five hundred feet, all the way to the ground, breaking his spine, thus killing him. The dead started to limp over to him, and start feasting on his flesh.

Bowser Jr. locked his window, and he started blocking it off with some of the furniture blocking his door. Anna was speechless. She clasped a hand over her mouth, silently whimpering. Before the apocalypse, Brian was her best friend for the two years that she lived in the hotel. And now, he was zombie food. Now, Daniel finally caught up with them.

"Guys, what happened? Where's Brian?"

"Brian's...", Jen started to say, but was too hypnotized at Brian's cadaver to continue. Daniel understood what that meant.

"Sorry I asked.", he murmured before turning around to leave.  
_

Day Three: 7:35 AM

Corey was now driving the car, with Tom in the front passenger seat. Henry and Lucas were asleep in middle and back seats respectively. It was ten minutes since Corey woke up to take her turn at the wheel. They were one hundred and ninety-eight miles away, still two and a half hours until they'd make it to Mushroom City. Corey was confident that they could make it to Hotel Mario, to Anna's apartment. Tom was doing his best to think happy thoughts, hoping no harm would come to them. Instead of Tom's wish, this is what happened.

Remember the horde of walkers (Walking Dead reference) that Mario and Peach encountered last chapter? It was here. Corey was dumbstruck.

"God damn it!", she was going to say when she decided to steer off the road, turning onto Carver Street.

They were in a small town called Goomba village. Henry woke up, alarmed. Lucas was still asleep. Then they turned onto Abigail Road. Corey searched desperately for a town exit. Her heart was pounding heavily, as was Henry's and Tom's. After a minute of searching they ended up at the right exit they wanted to go.

"Yes!", Corey cheered, "We made it!"

That woke Lucas up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, while Henry looked out the back car door. The zombies were too far away now. Henry felt grateful that they made it out of that mess. Unfortunately, their success was short-lived. An unnamed Goomba survivor ran in front of the car, trying to get away from another crowd of zombies. Corey shrieked. She steered onto a road to her right, leaving the survivor to be devoured by the undead. But in her panic, she lost control of the steering wheel. They spun out of control. The four survivors screamed, fearing for their lives, and for each other's. They crashed into a nearby spruce tree.  
_

Day Three: 7:41 AM

A plumber, clad in red, drove in his crimson Cadillac. That's right, it's Mario. Luigi was next to him, driving a huge, yellow truck, which contained three crap loads of food, water, guns, melee weapons and ammo. Mario's car had Brooke and Jordan, both sitting in the back. They were returning to the Toadsworth Survivor Camp when they saw a crowd of zombies.

Two toads, one goomba, and one koopa barely held their own against their undead assailants. Tom's leg was a bad kind of broken. The knee bone stuck out of the knee, and the toad was losing blood very badly. Henry had a concussion, but nothing serious. He and Corey were protecting Lucas, who was figuring out what to do with Tom.

"What in the world?", Mario said as he got out of his car, "They're in trouble!"

Mario ran over, and he started shooting the zombies, as well as lure a few towards him. Jordan and Brooke joined him.

"Don't kill zombies without us.", stated Brooke, annoyed.

Now the three off them were killing off the crowd. Corey and Henry were no longer being cornered. In a matter of minutes, all of the zombies were in a dead cluster on the road. Without Luigi, the three survivors rushed over to Henry's group.

"Whoa!", Mario squealed at Tom's leg. Corey took the initiative.

"Can you help us?"

"Wait, hold on there a second.", Jordan said, cautiously.

"Jordan, put the two toads in the truck. We can't fit everyone."

"But Mario, we don't know these people. What if they try to hurt us?", he asked.

"This isn't open for debate! Please help me lift this guy into the truck.", Mario responded.

Before Jordan could say anything, Mario and Corey lifted Tom over to the back of the truck and put them inside.

"Thank you so much Mario!", said Corey, merrily.

She recognized Mario (Who didn't?), but he didn't recognize her. Anyway, they didn't have the time for this. The Hospital was a only two miles from here. They closed the back of the truck. Lucas joined Luigi in the truck, and Henry joined Mario's car. The two automobiles raced off into the distance.  
_

 **End of Chapter 7.**

 **Up next: Henry's group arrives at the Toadsworth Survivor Camp. More flashbacks about Jordan go underway.**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	8. Lost Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! This is a remake of Lost Chapter One. Before, I had three, super short chapters in one, but I discarded that. For every thirteen chapters, there will be two lost chapters. Lost chapters are shorter than a usual chapter, but are of great importance if you want to know the whole story! If you don't wish to read it, move on to Chapter 8.  
_**

 _Lost Chapter One: The Missing Memoirs of E. Gadd: #101..._

 **April 24, 2017**

 _Oh Eldstar..._

 _I, Professor Elvin Gadd, have committed a foul sin..._

 _How did it come to this?_

 _It's all my fault._

 _Last week was ever so peaceful, until the great, nefarious Koopa wizard disturbed my work on creating a new, better time machine. His eyes, full of evil. He stared straight at me, want in those black eyes of his. I asked him what on earth he wanted; he rambled on and on about how he was going to destroy my beloved home, the Mushroom Kingdom with the threat of a meteor looming on the horizon. If only I had known he was bluffing..._

 _I begged for him to leave the innocent citizens be, they had done nothing to harm him. And yet, he was an 80-year old devil. No love in his heart, no care in his soul, except for that blasted king, Bowser, his godson. He offered me another option, to get to work on the most toxic chemicals known to man, mixed with potions made of the darkest matter; to insert them into bombs of a considerable size. I told him I wouldn't do it, for I hid a wireless panic switch in my coat pocket, warning the kingdom of the threat. They had missile shelters built into the ground all around the kingdom, which could protect them from a meteor the size Kamek threatened my with. However, Kamek anticipated any attempt for me to warn Princess Peach, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, thus my switch burn out. I quickly dropped it once I felt its burn. He then said that if I couldn't do it of my own free will, then I would do it of his..._

 _I hadn't remembered what I did the entire day. But by the time I came to, I glimpsed sixteen bombs, the Koopa Kingdom's symbol on the bases. That kappa bastard hadn't known that I had snapped out of his spell, so I put a pep in my step and walked towards the launching system. They were all set to hit designated targets throughout the Mushroom Kingdom! I had to do something, something I knew I would regret. But if it meant saving the Mario Bros. and Princess Peach, then I had to try._

 _Every targeted area was in the Northern Mushroom Kingdom, so I just needed to redirect the missiles to countrysides, mountains, lowly populated areas; any places that had very few amounts of people living there. I knew that there was so hope of stopping the missile launch, and I knew that many would still die, but I didn't want as much blood on my hands as there already was going to be. Oh, of the many pitfalls in the world, this had to be everyone's._

 _If only I could have seen this coming..._

 _If only I could look into the past, present, and future..._

 _I wish I could have finished my task. But after I fixed thirteen, he came for me. His eyeballs burned through those crooked glasses of his, the veins in his claws pulsing. I panicked and hit the launch button before he could ram into me. Trust me when I say that he was more than unhappy where five of them went. We could only watch as the bombs flew through the air to their targets. Millions would definitely die, maybe even a few billion._

 _I couldn't believe that I failed..._

 _The princess and the Mario Bros. are in grave danger because of me! And Kamek of course. Speaking of which, he sealed me inside my laboratory, doomed to never leave my humble abode, to never know if my domicile will survive the horrible damage we caused. He flew off into the horizon, where I saw a an implosion that darkened the surrounding sky. He was deceased, or so I believe. Whether he is alive or not, I am unsure. But I know right now that I need to save the world. I quickly got to work on my time machine. I decided to dismantle it and work on creating another machine of epic proportions..._

The rest of the page is ripped out. Clutching it in his hand, Bowser shuddered. How did the page get over here in middle the road if Professor Elvin Gadd is trapped in his laboratory, living off of a prototype, automatic food machine? He may never know. And why was he never told that Kamek was his godfather!? He needed to go find Ludwig and show this to him, but no one else. Ludwig can keep a secret, but no one else in his group can.

As he ran off to show his eldest son this crucial piece of paper, an enigmatic figure watched his every move from half a kingdom away...  
 **_**

 **That's the end of Lost Chapter One. I know what you're thinking. Since when did Bowser have time to stop driving and happen to procure this important memoir? This actually takes places in between Chapters Twelve and Thirteen, which won't be out for a little while. I hope this was an interesting chapter for you fans to set your eyes on, for at least now you know who caused the apocalypse.**

 **And now, let's continue with the main story.**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	9. Chapter 8: Sirius

**This chapter is dedicated to the writer who inspired me to write this story, Magikoopa981. Also, no plagiarism involved, but he allowed me to use one of his favorite characters from his #1 hit story, Mario's Crowbar, in our story. If you'd like to read some of his works, search the following titles:**

 _ **Mario's Crowbar**_

 _ **Nuclear Phantasy**_

 _ **The Mushroom Kingdom**_

 **You could also search his name and find all of his stories, but three I listed are the best ones he has. Also, you might be wondering why Mario's group got to the Hospital faster than Corey found Mushroom City. The thing is... remember Chapter 3? Because Corey and Tom couldn't take the shortcut they were hoping for, they had to go far around (they did end up meeting Henry and Lucas though). But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Note: This is a remake of Chapter 8)  
_**

 _Chapter 8: Sirius_

Day Three: 7:44 AM

Jordan was thinking about Ronald, the other guy that came with him, Brooke, and the Mario Bros. to the Twilight Town supply run. Luigi and Brooke were already outside the city, waiting for the three to return with supplies while guarding the truck. It was his fault. Jordan knew he and Mario should've worked together about how to escape. They both had two equally good ideas on how to escape that zombie infested death trap of a town! They shouldn't have had to fight over it. And because of them, Ronald got devoured as they finally decided to choose Mario's method of escape. _I'm a frigging idiot!_ , thought Jordan, ashamed of himself, and of Mario.

Right now though, they needed to take these four random survivors they found and bring them back to camp! It was just now that they drove right in, waiting for Peach, Anthony, and Ashley to start unloading the truck. It was to their surprise that they discovered Corey's group in the back! Mario, exiting his car, ran over to the back of the truck.

"Mario? Who the heck are these people!?" Peach reacted when she saw them.

Mario, impatient, responded, "No time to explain! Help me carry this toad!"

Mario and Peach climbed into the truck and lifted Tom out, hurrying to try and get him into a hospital room. Corey followed right after them. Henry and Lucas slowly climbed down from the truck, confused about what is going on. As the other survivors worked to gather the food, clothes, and other essentials, and supply the hospital with them, Henry decided to help. Lucas, after a bit of thought, joined them. And that is when Sam walked out of his room.

 _What the-,_ Sam thought in disbelief. He was only gone for fifteen minutes, and the survivors were already in a panic! What were four new people doing here without his permission? Why wasn't he notified?

As Mario and Peach began to rush by, he just had to ask.

"What on earth is going on here!?" Sam yelled in a worried tone.

"We just saw those four survivors getting attacked by a horde of zombies!" Mario told Sam as he carried Tom into his room. "I couldn't let them die like that."

"Mario, that is grateful of you, but we talked about this! No letting random people into the hospital!"

"Well you know what Sam? Screw off! And by the way, Ronald's dead."

As Mario and Peach carried Tom into his room (Corey still following), Sam stopped dead in his tracks. Ronald was a childhood friend... A tear fell from his face, but he had to wipe it off and stay strong for his fellow survivors. He left to see what else was going on.  
 **_**

Day Three: 7:46 AM

"Mario, that wasn't a very nice thing to say." Peach berated him.

"I don't care. He had it coming princess."

 _No need to be rude!,_ Peach screamed in her head.

As Mario and Peach laid a comatose Tom down on the only bed in the room, Corey saw something she wished wasn't there...

"Oh no no no no no!" Corey freaked out.

Tom would not live much longer. Mario and Peach saw the bite as well, Peach hyperventilating and Mario falling onto his bum. Corey couldn't believe her eyes...

...her true love, her fiance was dying, if not dead already. How could she let this happen?

Corey started to sob a waterfall's worth of tears. Tom should not be dying like this. They were going to save Anna, and the three of them would be together. Forever. That fantasy shattered, unrepairable. Corey felt a melancholy piano song play in her head, matching the rhapsody mood of the room.

"Ginny! David! Please guard the door." Peach called to two goombas. "She needs her privacy."

As Mario and Peach slowly walked outside of the room, Ginny and David guarded the door. Corey needed to be alone. No one, not even Henry could comfort her at this moment in her life.

Speaking of Henry, the koopa ran over to Corey's room; he wanted to know if she was alright.

"She's not. Her boyfriend's dying man." David said.

Henry felt a shiver crawl down his spine, and then felt melancholy. Hanging his head low, he walked back to whence he came.  
 **_**

Day Three: 9:00 AM

"Guys, they zombies have vacated the hallway." A bumpty nurse named Kim alerted Conrad Gibson. Conrad, a former paratroopa, was smoking in the office room as Kim watched the halls for the dead. Another koopa, Wes Sirius walked out of the office, and to a nearby double-door. He began to lock pick the hallway door. If he didn't unlock it in time, the zombies would return, and he and his friends would surely starve to death. The other hospital survivors wouldn't know that they were still alive and try to rescue them. The lock picking process took a mere minute.

 **Click!**

"Got it. Guys come he-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a scream came from a room adjacent to the office! It was Mike, a toad survivor who got trapped here with them!

"HELP! YEARAGHHh..."

"Holy ****!" yelled Conrad as he and Wes ran over to the door. Conrad kicked the door open, only to find something sinister. Lloyd, a goomba who died yesterday from the flu, was undead; biting Mike's neck. Wes panicked, so he did a quick draw, shooting Lloyd in the head. As the cadaver fell to the ground, so did Mike. Blood gushed out of his esophagus, causing Wes to almost hurl. Conrad stood over Mike, closing his eyes for a moment. Why did it have to come to this? This was the fault of a thirty-seven year old toad doctor. Mike tried to plead for help.

"Please... *coughs uncontrollably*"

"I'm sorry Mike. This is for your own good."

Conrad pointed his revolver at Mike, and he pulled the trigger.

 **BLAM!**

Mike stirred no more. Wes, feeling remorse and pestilence over Mike, looked down the hall in hopes that the zombies weren't coming back. Too bad for him. A corpse began to crawl from the depths of the hospital, seeking flesh to bite its fangs into.

"Guys lets go! If we're gonna get out of here, the time is now!" Kim yelled to the two koopas.

As Kim and Wes struggled to push the blockaded doors open, more zombies appeared, slowly continuing their advance. Conrad bolted out of the room Mike's cadaver occupied, then he rammed right into the double doors.

 **Crash!**

From the other side, a shy guy guarding the gate could be heard saying "What the hell?".  
 **_**

Day Three: 8:12 AM

As Peach was loading boxes of _Little Daisy's Honey Buns_ into a supply closet, she couldn't help but feel really sorry for Corey, in spite of only knowing her for half an hour. But she also felt that Mario was taking too much pressure. They've been through a lot in the past week, but Mario's has most likely been the one through the most stress. Mario's attitude was turning from kind (usually), to either capricious, douchy, or a mix of both. And her breaking up with Mario the other day only made it worse. She couldn't help but fell quite sorry for the hero in red attire.

Mario was also unloading the supply truck, thinking the same about Peach. He just didn't understand how Peach could keep her from falling apart after all those years of being kidnapped countless times. He felt it definitely wasn't the best for him and Peach to have broken up... he wanted to repair the holes in his friendship with the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. He just hasn't had the time, until now.

"Princess?" Mario called to Peach, who was already returning to collect another box of sugary crap. I mean, even though Honey Buns are delicious, they are not good for people.

"Yes Mario?" answered Peach.

"Look."

Mario brought over with him to the side, making Luigi take over Peach's shift.

"I know that our relationship is in shambles, but I just wanted to say-"

Peach placed her finger on his lip, interrupting him.

"I know Mario. We've had our ups and downs, but that fight..."

"It really wasn't necessary for me to accuse you of being a horrible brother. Because even though you act like a douchebag every now and then, you still love Luigi, and me even. Besides, you finally did the one thing I wanted you to do."

Mario began to sweat nervously.

"Don't think I didn't notice that you finally decided to do what I knew would keep us alive in the first place. Steal. Salvage. Whatever you want to call it in this... apocalypse. I mean, I know you are a generally selfless man, but I thought that even though you'd never take items without permission under normal circumstances, you would do whatever it took to keep us from dying of hunger."

"I get what you are saying Peach." Mario replied. "I knew I should have listened to you, but I didn't. I thought that this incident would just blow over, and everything would be back to the way things were meant to be. But I see now that it will never happen. I had to end up agreeing with you if I wanted us to come here and survive."

"Do you still love me?"

"What? I uh..."

"Do you still love me?" she repeated.

"The truth is..." Mario was finally coming out with it. "I never stopped loving you. What happened at the house was one incident. We could have more issues like that in the future, so why stay apart?"

"I never stopped loving you either. And will never stop loving you, even if I die."

"Me neither!"

The two lovers kissed, making that special love connection that they've always had together. These two would go to the ends of the world to be together. They would never truly be apart.  
 **_**

Day Three: 8:56 AM

Tom, on the brink of death, opened his eyes to find Corey sitting at the side of his bed. The female toad, just noticing his sudden awakening, wrapped her arms around her high school lover. If he was to die, it is better if Corey was there to see him one last time.

"T-tom, I'm so sorry. I-"

"Its is alright." Tom interrupted, a habit Corey usually tends to display. "It was not your *cough* fault that you had to drive into that tree. It was either me, or all of us *cough* I guess..."

"Don't say that. I could have done something about it. I s-should have!" Corey was on the verge of tears again. "I should've rammed into the zombies head on, or maybe drive in the other direction. I shouldn't have drove into a stupid tree!"

"Corey." Tom tried to tell her to stop.

"I'm so sorry okay? I panicked. I never meant to hurt you!" Corey's eyes were streaming with tears now.

"Corey! *cough* It's okay."

Corey ceased her sobbing.

"You didn't have another choice. It is alright. You did what you could to try and protect us from the dead. You, Henry and Lucas will just have to c-c-continue w-without me."

"Tom..." Corey said, fearing he was almost gone. The bite wound he sustained was getting infected. He would not survive the rest of the hour...

"I am happy." Tom continued. "I am h-happy th- that I get to spend my final moments with the one I love most. Corey Kopper, when I'm gone, don't torture yourself over me. Find someone else, someone who you can give your heart to... when I... I'm gone."

"But I don't want any one else... I want to be with you. Tom, my life will be a wreck without you."

"You'll still *cough* have Anna. Love her, and never let her go. If she is the one you love most, never let her die."

"I won't. *sniffle*"

Tom began to feel death stand over him. A hooded, shadowy figure was standing on the opposite side of the bed as Corey. He had to make his last fifteen seconds count. Using the last of his strength, he sat up in his bed, leaning over to his girlfriend's ear. What he whispered in her ear would change everything...

After he said what he had to say, he felt death start to pull his consciousness out of his body. The reaper yanked at the Toad's soul with all off his might, reaping what he sows. And as Tom began to leave his body, he said his four final words to the only person he knew could keep his secret.

"Seven...

Two...

Seven...

Seven..."

Tom's body fell gently onto the comfy hospital bed, his eyes completely shut. Corey came into shock. He was gone, and he would never be coming back. Ginny, one of the goombas guarding the door peeked inside the room a minute later, only to find Corey crying, and a knife driven into Tom's forehead. She hung her head low, mourning the death of Corey's lost love. But that's when they heard a bang.

"What the hell?" Jordan reacted.  
 **_**

Day Three: 9:02 AM

"Guys, they are people on the other side of this door!" Jordan yelled to Ginny, David, and Corey, who were nearby. "Help me move this junk!"

Corey, trying to get over Tom's departure, opened the door and ran over to help him move all of the wooden stuff piled in front of the double-door. As David came to help them, Ginny called to the other survivors.

"People! We need to move this barricade!"

Mario, as well as the rest of the people packing the last of the truck's supplies into the hospital heard Ginny's plea, running over to help the four with removing the one thing that kept the zombies out. Sam, who also noticed, sprinted over to try and stop the other survivors from potentially killing themselves. Too late. As soon as enough clutter was thrown out of the way, a buffed up koopa busted the double-door open. He, another koopa, and a bumpty all hurried out of the confined area right before the zombies reached the door.

"Quick! Close the door on these sons of bitches!" Conrad, the beefy koopa yelled out.

Together, the survivors pushed the doors closed, then Wes, the other koopa swiftly locked them up with his lock pick. They were safe, for now. However, there was one psyched out doctor they had to deal with.

"What is going one here!?" Samuel Welsh screamed. And then that's when he noticed the three survivors who were rescued. Two of them had a bone to pick with him.

"You asshole!" Conrad yelled, punching Sam in the face.

Everyone except for Kim gasped! Why would this guy do that?

"You almost killed us!" Kim shouted, backing Conrad up. "Mike, Lloyd, and my husband, Eddie are all dead because of you!"

Sam was cowering behind Mario, his nose bleeding from Conrad's power punch.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Mario said. "What's going on here?"

"Mario?" Wes asked in wonder. "You're here? And Luigi and the princesses too?" Wes was trying to change the subject to get Conrad and Kim to calm down. Wes couldn't hold a grudge against someone who hadn't meant to trap him somewhere where he could die. Conrad however, acknowledging that the Mario Bros. and the Princesses of the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland are seeking refuge here with other survivors, ignored him and continued.

"This toad committed a foul crime! He trapped us and three others in that blocked off area!"

Sam tried to counter with, "You don't understand! I couldn't let those blighters spread to the rest of the hospital. I had no choice!"

"Yes you did!" Kim angrily replied, stomping towards him. "We were all going to be fine with killing that amount of walkers! But the moment you trapped us there, Eddie and Lloyd were slaughtered! Mike died right before we started to wrestle the door open!"

"Sam? Is this true?" asked Jordan, surprised that Sam did this horrible deed before he, Jordan arrived at the hospital (Without Montgomery unfortunately, you'll see why in the next chapter). _I guess he wasn't the good doctor I knew after_ _all..._

"Yeah Samuel! Is it?" Silas began to rebel.

"When were you going to tell us?" Luigi said.

"Did you plan to keep this a secret!?" Rebecca said next.

Everyone else then began to yell in disorderly fashion, like a crowd discouraging someone on their walk of shame. Sam began to lose it. His name, tarnished. His reputation, in a huge wreck. If it weren't for what happened next, he would've suffered very extensively...

"EVERYBODY STOP!" shrieked Mario.

At a moment's notice, the hall became silent. Tyler and Anthony sneaked away from the hallway, leaving to go on guard duty while Mario sorted out this misunderstanding.

"Look at us! We're all in a rage over something that is better to be carried out in a judicial court. The only problem, we have no courts. I think what we should do is try to keep these two (pointing to Conrad and Kim) from ripping Sam apart."

"But-" Conrad tried to butt in.

"I'm not done! Sam, even though you lead us, what you did was a sin, and therefore, you must make it up to these three people you entrapped somehow."

"Mario, you said that I was the leader." Sam said, confused.

"You still are, but you need to understand that these koopas and that bumpty were almost killed by one of your decisions. It is your job as the leader of this community to keep everyone safe, and keep everything under control; from falling into chaos, disrepair. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"..."

"Sam?"

"Yes." Sam meekly replied.

"Okay." Mario began to conclude, calmness seeping back into his voice. "So from now on, I want everyone to work together, keep everything from falling apart! Is that clear?"

Everyone in the hall agreed, a few reluctantly. Moments later, the crowd broke up. Kim and Conrad were assigned rooms far from Sam and Ashley's room. Wes, who held no grudge against the doctor, temporarily shared a room with Corey. Henry and Lucas stayed in the room next door. Order was maintained, but there would continue to be more challenges in the future. And it would have to be Mario who could solve them. Not Sam.  
 **_**

 **Well, that's the end of Chapter 8. I was planning for this remake to be longer than the original version, which had several flaws in it. Wes Sirius is the character I borrowed from Magi. You will see much later in the story that he serves an important role in the events that lead to something... I'm not going to tell you now. That would pretty much spoil everything for you readers.**

 **Also, what did Tom tell Corey before he died, I guess you'll have to find out later on! Until then, à plus tard!**

 **FinalMagus25**


	10. Chapter 9

**This chapter focuses on Bowser briefly arriving at the hospital, as well as Corey, Henry, and Lucas leaving to save Anna's group. This chapter also contains flashbacks. Also, about last chapter, what I said about Ashley having a flashback in this chapter was wrong. Sorry for the inconvenience. Anyway, let's see how this chapter turns out.**

 **In French to English translation, this chapter means: _You Can't Undo The Past_.**

 _Chapter 9: Vous ne pouvez pas annuler le passé_

Day Four: 12:36 PM

Wes opened the gate.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Mario quizzed Corey.

"Of course I have to go. Anna is my sister, she's counting on me to liberate her from that hell hole of a city." She responded. "Are you sure that you don't want to come with us to save her?"

"My mind's been made up. I'm staying. Besides, Peach and I are back together again, not to mention that we could make a living here."

"Alright then... Take care Mario." Corey finished hesitantly.

Corey, Lucas, and Henry sat in a Dodge Charger that Rebecca brought for them after another supply run. They waved goodbye to Mario as they began to drive away. Mario waved back at them as they sped out of sight.

Wes closed the gate.  
_

Flashback: Day Negative One: 8:27 PM

Jordan and Montgomery were camped about thirty miles away from the hospital. They were both awfully tired, so they decided to camp out for the night. The were sitting next to a campfire Monty built, while they were laying on sleeping bags. Jordan marveled at the stars above him; they twinkled without falter. Monty was wide awake, goggling at a constellation, Pisces. On the day he was born, that same band of stars formed the deranged-looking mace constellation. Whenever he saw it, he felt that he would be empowered, to have the strength to continue living strong during his old age.

"What a beautiful night." he muttered, staring at Pisces.

"It sure is." replied Jordan.

They looked up at the starry sky, dazzled by the faraway suns that make up the Solar Systems of the Super Mario Galaxy. After a while, Montgomery fell asleep. But Jordan remained transfixed on the cheery night sky above. He wished upon a star, hoping for the apocalypse to come to pass. However, the star was already wished on, and the wish wouldn't come true...  
_

Flashback: Day Zero: 5:12 AM

 **BLAM!**

The sound of a gunshot snapped Jordan out of his peaceful slumber. He bolted straight up, and out of his sleeping bag. He grabbed his gun from beside the dying firelight, and he set out to find the source of the noise. Montgomery was not at the campsite when he did...

"Oh my god! I'm sorry, I-"

A hunter named Vanya shot Montgomery in the chest, thinking he was a zombie. Unfortunately, he was very, very wrong. Jordan got there, but by the time he did, Monty was dead. Tears streamed down his masked face; he felt both melancholy, and bitter. He charged at Vanya, and he tackled him. Jordan snatched Vanya's sniper rifle, and he aimed it at Vanya.

"NO! Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry! I'm so-" he ranted.

Jordan didn't care. In his mind, he was getting revenge for Montgomery, his first friend since the apocalypse started. He couldn't resist the urge to pull the trigger.

 **BLAM!**

Vanya was shot in the mouth, he died almost instantly. Jordan's hand were shaking, he dropped his weapon, and he tearfully walked over to his friend. The boo was sprawled on the ground, his pupils turned white. He was gone, and there was no bringing him back, or Vanya.

Montgomery told him that to kill the zombies, their brains have to die. Jordan couldn't let him come back looking like that. He pulled out a knife Montgomery gave him, and then he jabbed it once into his head, preventing any reanimation to occur. Jordan returned to sobbing over the death of his friend, Montgomery.  
_

Day Four: 8:51 AM

This was before Corey left. There were forty-two people living in the hospital. Jordan was preparing to go on another supply run, which would happen tomorrow. The supply run consisted of two teams: a shy guy named Rane, Luigi, Daisy, Jordan and Conrad made up the first. The second was composed of Brooke, David, Gordon, and Anthony. Everyone else would stay at the hospital, and work together to clear out the zombies. Good thing Sam didn't make the mistake of keeping Conrad here at the hospital to help. But he'd still have to watch for Kim and Wes, who also have a sort of grudge against him.

Jordan was just as mad at Sam as Kim was, I mean, they got trapped before Jordan arrived at the hospital. But still, really? He shouldn't have let them get stuck over there. Kim wanted to kill Sam if he ever did something as foolish as that stunt he pulled on her again. She's so pissed off that she would watch the gate, and stay away from Sam for as long as possible. Wes understood why Sam locked them out, but he was still not cool with that decision. He wasn't as stressed as most other people- because he literally grew up on a battlefield-but he just didn't want to deal any crap today. He thought back to his plane crash...  
_

Flashback: Day Negative Two: 9:18 AM

Wes woke up with his seatbelt still on. All around him were zombies, thirty-eight passengers were trapped in their seats. They were dead, but alive all the same. Wes had a panic attack as he cut himself out with his Swiss Army Knife. He got up. All but four of the zombies were trapped in their seats. The missing four were stuck in the cockpit. Wes took his stuff, and he darted out of the plane as quickly as possible, but not before snagging an emergency health kit.

After he got a half of a mile away, and barfed into a nearby bush. He was still very shaken up about the crash. His friends were in there, rotting like the living cadavers they were. Wes felt fear, with a side of agony, and foreboding. He attempted to deal with his negative emotions while wandering an empty street, lost. Thirty minutes later, he saw a hospital. A hospital that was overrun in all areas but one. There was a toad doctor there, hugging his adopted sister close to him. By the time Wes arrived, the doctor walked over to the veteran, curious as to what he could do for the community he was working on building.  
_

Flashback: Day Zero: 6:06 AM

Jordan's car arrived at the hospital gate. Montgomery knew that this place would be a safe area for him and Jordan to go to, partially because it was a hospital. Monty had good intentions when he thought of bringing the young-adult shy guy over here. Now Jordan was here. This place would become his new home. He was certain of this, because the person he was about to talk to would let him in.

A toad doctor walked up to the gate. Wondering why the shy guy was here, he asked him a few questions.

"Hello! My name is Dr. Samuel Walsh, the leader of this community. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Jordan." Jordan responded. "A friend of mine wanted me to come here. He hoped that this was a safe haven. Is it safe?"

"Of course it is. For the moment at least." Sam replied. "So it's just you?"

Jordan's head drooped. He knew Sam didn't mean to hurt his feelings at all, but those words still hit right where it hurt.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Do you have supplies?" Sam continued curiously.

"Yes. A day's worth of snacks for an average person."

"Okay. So, if I let you in, what will you do for this community?"

"Wait, what? I uh... I don't know..." Jordan mumbled. "Whichever job you think would be the best for me to do would be fine."

"Hmmmm..."

There was a silence, and then...

"Alright then. Si! Please let this guy in!"

Silas, who was on the gate at the time, opened the gate, and then closed it when Jordan drove inside. Jordan did it. He finally had a shelter, and fellow survivors! If only Montgomery was with him...

"Welcome to the Toadsworth Survivor Camp!"  
_

Day Four: 1:05 PM

Jordan and Wes were watching the gate. Whenever a zombie came close, one of them would ladder climb down, and then take out the zombie with one of their knives. They were beginning to get bored, so they had a conversation.

"What a beautiful day." declared Wes.

"Yep." Jordan replied. "If only my parents or Montgomery were here, they'd be saying the same thing."

"You too huh? I lost mine to the war between the Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Jordan said with the feeling of desolation. "Mine were killed just when the world went to hell. Montgomery was killed in... an incident."

"*sigh* I know the feeling." Wes answered. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jordan shook his head. He wasn't really in the mood of talking about the deceased.

"You know Jordan, there was a time where I was like you."

"Really? You?" Jordan inquired.

"Yeah. But sometimes, you just have to get over what you're dealing with, and move on. Took me a while to learn that."

"Okay then. I'll try." Jordan responded. "Although, it's kind of weird that I'm taking advice from someone who's younger than me."

"That's the effect of war." Wes replied.

But at that moment, two cars raced up to the gate, and they stopped before they could crash into it. Then, two figures came out, and then five more. Goddamn it. It was Bowser, and three-fourths of his kids. Mario and Sam panicked to reach the gate. Jordan headed into the hospital, but Wes stayed where he was. In spite of the presence of Mario though, Bowser wanted no quarrel.

"Bowser? Oh no you don't!" Mario raged at Bowser.

Mario attempted to attack Bowser, but Luigi and Peach held him back. Morton, Roy, and Wendy each had a weapon, and Bowser and Ludwig were carrying pistols. It would be a catastrophic idea to try and take them down all at once. Bowser didn't want needless fatalities either, so he spoke up.

"Hello Mario, Luigi; Peach." he started saying while Mario hopelessly attempted break free from Luigi and his girlfriend's hold on him. He was still trying to take a certain chance of becoming a martyr with no cause. Bowser continued to talk.

"I know that you people in there don't want me or my children anywhere near you guys, but we seriously need shelter. Even if it's for one night."

Sam stepped up.

"Don't mind Mario. I'm the toad in charge." Sam responded. "Dr. Samuel Walsh."

"Never heard of you." Bowser replied. He obviously never paid attention to the names of scientific men or women.

His six kids kept their mouths shut, just like his father told them to when they arrived.

"Anyway, I need to ask you a few questions before I can let you in." Sam said casually, as this was becoming a semi-normal occurrence. "Is there only seven of you, or are there more?"

"Seven. Me and my kids." Bowser answered.

Mario counted all of the Koopalings except Lemmy. He believed that this was another one of Bowser's schemes. He asked:

"Where's your seventh?"

"He's... dead."

"Ohhhh..." Mario said.

He should've realized that Lemmy was deceased, but he'd have to be an average person if he did. Sam ignored Mario and continued.

"How much food do you have?" Sam questioned the Koopa King.

"Enough. Enough to feed us for two days." Bowser replied. Then he countered. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm prepared to have you guys join the-"

"NO! DO NOT LET THEM IN!" Mario ranted like a wild dog.

"Mario, I can handle this. Just calm down."

Mario broke free from Peach and Luigi's grasp. How marched over to the gate.

"Calm down!? You expect me to calm down, and watch you shelter my worst enemies? This is a friggin scandal!"

No one moved. Bowser was most likely the only one who wasn't scared of Mario's fit of rage.

"Mario, think about this for a moment!" Luigi urged his brother.

"We don't like Bowser either, but he's not trying to harm us." Peach tried to assure Mario.

"Not yet he isn't!"

"But Mario-"

"Arrrrggggggggghhhhhhh!" Mario cried out. He pulled a revolver out from his pocket, and he pointed it at Bowser's forehead.

"Hey! Don't you dare!" Bowser furiously replied.

Ludwig and Roy aimed their guns at Mario.

"Boys, everything's going to be okay. Put your guns back." Bowser ordered his sons. They complied.

"Fine Mario. We're going... go screw yourself."

The Koopa family reentered their cars, then after a minute or two, they drove off. Mario replaced his gun. He felt proud about standing up to his arch-nemesis. Luigi and Sam however, were speechless, with a side of pissed off. Everyone else believed that Mario was stuck between the lines of a hero, and a vigilante.  
_

Day Four: 6:29 PM

It was beginning to turn dark out. Sam and Luigi were arguing with Mario about what happened earlier. They were in Luigi's room.

"Mario, I don't care that it was Bowser!" Sam argued. "You destroyed a good chance of bringing him to our side!"

"Seriously? He's the King of the Koopa Kingdom." Mario riposted. "We can't let that demon in this hospital. You can't trust Bowser."

"Mario-" Luigi endeavored to say, but you know Mario.

"Shut up Luigi!"

"NO Mario! I'm sorry, but you've crossed the line! Why didn't you take a chance with Bowser like you did with Corey?"

"Weren't you listening? I HATE BOWSER! Not to mention he shot you in the foot you idiot!"

"Oh. So I'm the idiot now!?" Luigi yelled. "I'm still mad at Bowser about that incident, but honestly, you should've given him a second chance!"

"And Mario, I asked you whether to let me stay in charge or not!" Sam butted in.

"You are in charge!" Mario countered.

"Then what the cuss was you driving Bowser off about? You don't get to make leadership decisions! I do."

"SERIOUSLY!? WHY CAN'T YOU BLOCKHEADS UNDERSTAND THAT I-"

 **Doing!**

Mario fell to the floor, unconscious. It was Ashley who knocked him out with a frying pan. Sam was both impressed and shocked, while Luigi was the latter.

"Bro, are you alright?" Ashley asked Sam, sweating.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Sam thanked his adopted sister, assuaged that she temporarily took care of his Mario problem. "Let's put Mario back in his room before Princess Peach notices."

"But what if my brother becomes a problem again?" Luigi asked, slightly unnerved.

"Don't worry. Please trust that Jordan, Ashley and I can handle him."

Luigi listened to Sam, and he watched as the two siblings carried Mario out of the room, and into the neighboring room. Luigi was thinking about what he and Sam were doing. Was Mario really right to keep Bowser out? Or was Mario sort of schizophrenic? He'd never know what would've happened if things went down differently. At least he had Mario to blame for that. But no... he loved his brother. Mario loved Luigi too, but then Luigi thought more about why Mario kept Bowser out. Could it have been to protect him, Peach and anyone else he cared about? Luigi was left to ponder what happened earlier today...  
_

 **End of Chapter 9.**

 **Sorry for the long wait, but I had other stories to continue. Besides, my schedule is somewhat tight at the moment. When Summer Break comes, hopefully it will be easier to submit new chapters. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you have fun reading some of me and my team's other stories too!**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	11. Chapter 10: Misery

**Hello guys! Sorry that we've been taking so long to continue our stories. We've been very busy in family matters, me finishing up for the school year, and so on. I just want to thank you guys so much for reviewing this story and spending your time to read it. Please take your time to review each chapter of our story, as well as favorite or follow us, or _A Ghastly Epidemic_.**

 **This chapter is named after Maroon 5's song "Misery". Thank you Maroon 5! This chapter shifts between every current group of importance: the hospital survivors, Corey's group, Anna's group, and the Koopa Family.**

 ** _Chapter 10: Misery_**

Day Four: 3:37 PM

"How could he do this to us? I expected him to finally put an end to this feud, but NO! He had to be a little numb nut just to keep us out. I hope Mario dies one day because he messed with the wrong koopas! Who does he think we are? I bunch of freak shows who can't do crap!? That little-"

Bowser was ranting on for the duration of the ride. Iggy, Roy, and Wendy didn't seem to care, for Roy was asleep, and Iggy and Wendy were read Yager's medical journal to ignore their father's rant of anger.

Larry and Morton were sound asleep in Ludwig's car. Their elder brother, Ludwig was torn between two ideas: going back and killing the hospital survivors, or staying with his father. The silence was slowing killing his mind, so he turned on music to make the thinking stop. Of course, he picked the wrong disc. It was Maroon 5 with the song "Misery". Ludwig moaned as he heard one of his least favorite songs of all time.

The two cars drove away from sight, the sight of a dozen zombies...

...as well as several survivors going the opposite direction.  
_

Day Five: 8:54 AM

Mario was still outraged about the events of last night. Luigi and Sam wouldn't listen to him, and he got wacked on the head by Ashley. He decided not to tell Peach, for she would go into one of her emotional rage fires from a certain Mario Bros. Game. Mario watched as Luigi, Wes, Daisy and Jordan returned from their second supply run to Twilight Town and back, driving Peach's Camaro and the supply truck.

Sam was disappointed. Five people went on the run, but only four came back. He didn't need to ask if Rane, his childhood friend was alive because she wasn't. He shed a tear, but wiped it off when Jordan walked over. He needed to stay strong for the community.

"I'm sorry sir." Jordan mumbled. "She sacrificed herself so we could get out of that warzone of a town."

Sam said nothing.

Conrad, Gordon, and Silas cleared a piece of the hospital, right up to the office and basement area Conrad and the rest were stuck in. They closed off the nearest door and decided to call it a day. Conrad was still furious with Sam, as was Kim, who stayed in the room next to Akiro's.

The Mario Bros. were now on guard duty. As they sat on the wooden gate, Mario ignored Luigi in spite of his attempts to talk to him.

"Mario, I'm sorry. Ashley only did that so you could stop yelling like a maniac."

Mario remained silent. A zombie wearing a jumpsuit walked over to the gate. There was a name tag on it, which said Winston. Mario climb down the ladder leaning on the gate, and he pulled out his combat knife. He swiftly stabbed Winston in the head, putting the cadaver out of its misery. He dragged the zombie into the forest, and he hurried back to the gate. Luigi tried once again to conversate.

"Mario, you were being ridiculous last night. Just imagine what would have happened if you-"

"Shut... up." Mario interrupted. "Just shut the hell up, and freaking leave me alone."

Luigi said nothing more.

The two sat at the gate for an hour, remaining silent until Wes and Akiro walked over to take their shift.  
_

Day Five: 9:03 AM

Bowser stared at the now dead koopa. Zombies ate part of his body minutes ago. Of course, Ludwig and Roy dealt with them. His kids were now sitting in the cars, either asleep, reading the medical journal, or simply watching their father as he stomped on the corpse's head, crushing it.

Wendy and Iggy didn't notice, as they were preparing for the situation when someone gets injured. Morton was asleep, dreaming of how the world was before it went to hell. The other kids were waiting until Bowser stopped stomping on the corpse's head. The former koopa king took one last look at the dead koopa, and then he walked back to his car.

Millions of thoughts were flying through Bowser's head. He had only just remembered that his son, Bowser Jr. was hiding out in Mario Hotel, which was infested with zombies. So that's where he was going to go. He had to tell his children his plan, and he hoped that they would help him get his other son back.  
_

Day Four: 11:04 PM

Anna began to grow worried. Ever since Brian got himself killed, she and her friends remained shut inside her apartment. They were almost out of food, so Anna prayed that her sister would come and save her and her fellow survivors from this hell hole. In the corner of her living room, sat Bowser Jr., tied to a chair, duct tape covering his mouth. Apparently, on the day Brian died, Jennifer went back to Bowser Jr.'s apartment and ambushed him. What she didn't know was that by the time she got back to the apartment to tie the prince up, zombies broke into his poorly barricaded hideaway. Bowser Jr. however, believed that he never owed anyone anything. He was still unaware of zombies roaming his apartment, so he tried to wrench himself out of the chair. No dice.

Daniel and Constance were both asleep on makeshift beds, located on the wall opposite of Bowser Jr. Jennifer was smoking right outside the window to the metal stairway. Anna remained next to the koopa kid, watching to make sure he didn't escape his chair. After half an hour of jerking himself left to right, Bowser Jr. gave up and passed out of exhaustion.

Jen does know how to tie someone up right, Anna thought.

Jennifer sat on the balcony outside, smoking a marijuana cigarette. She looked up at the night sky, wishing something she hadn't wished since she was thirteen, to live among the Lumas, the star people. They and Princess Rosalina have the luxury of not getting hunted down by revenants of people she used to love, so why can't she have the same thing?

Anna felt like she was the loneliest toad on earth. Not including Bowser Jr., only her fellow survivors kept her company. Not wanting to be alone for the night, she walked over to Jennifer, and sat next to her on the balcony.

The two friends were in the same boat, figuratively and literally. All they wished for was a miracle to smite this ghastly epidemic. But most of all, Anna needed Corey, her sister to hold her in her arms, to never let go of her, to never lose her again. Anna need a miracle.

"Hey Jennifer." Anna said.

"Hey." Jennifer replied, feeling the same feeling that Anna had. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you believe in miracles?" Anna asked.

"Yeah..."

Jennifer stopped for a minute. She didn't want to chat, but then she decided it couldn't hurt to speak.

"I believe in a miracle that trumps all miracles, the miracle that I could live among the Lumas."

"I believe in the miracle that Corey would save me, and she'd never let me out of her sight again. *sigh*"

"Well then, I guess we essentially have the same dream." Jennifer spoke.

Anna and Jennifer sat there, bedazzled by the stars shining in the noir sky. Anna made a wish upon a star. Her wish: that Corey would find and save her from this madness.  
_

Day Five: 9:04 AM

"Dad, are you out of your freaking mind!?" Wendy berated, apathetic about her brother's situation. "He's probably dead already! If we go in there, we could all DIE!"

"Wendy, don't you talk to me that way!" Bowser yelled at his selfish daughter. "We are going to save Junior; you cannot refuse your father's wishes!"

"But Father, Wendy may be right." Iggy argued. "What if this plan is doomed to failure?"

"Are you serious Dad!? I don't want to die!" Morton panicked.

Half of Bowser's children were against him. Roy, in all honesty, didn't really care about what they were talking about. He was testing out his cannon. There were two kids however, who chose to side with him.

"Guys, what if he really is alive? What if he needs our help to spirit him away from Mushroom City?" said Larry, the most caring brother of the Koopa Family.

"I'm with Larry and Dad." declared Ludwig, the eldest brother.

Wendy was pissed, for she would rather jump off a cliff than attempt a suicide mission. She stomped away from them, and took the driver's seat of Ludwig's car. It was just then that Ludwig realized he left his keys in the car, and left it unlocked. Damn.

"Hey! That's my car you beach!" said a rather irked Ludwig.

"Whoever doesn't want to die an utterly useless death, hop in!" Wendy screamed.

Morton and Iggy walked over and took the back seats. Roy, who had headphones on, couldn't hear a thing as he shot a 75 MPH Bullet Bill at a nearby zombie.

Larry and Bowser walked over to the car.

"Sis, please. Don't do this..." Larry pleaded to his sister, looking as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Kids. Final warning." Bowser threatened the three.

Wendy ignored them both, and without even saying goodbye, she cruised away towards the highway. Morton and Iggy began reading the medical journal, looking for a vaccine that's close to a zombie cure. Wendy felt proud that she no longer had to do whatever her father wanted, but just then, she felt something. She got the feeling that this wasn't how things should've turned out.

As Wendy drove away in Ludwig's car, tears streamed down the Koopa King's face. Half of his siblings didn't care about him, nor his plan to rescue his only biological son. He didn't want this newfound pain, but it came, and it would never leave.

"****!" screeched Bowser as he picked up a nearby boulder, and smashed it into a tree. It was only then that Roy took his headphones off to see what was the matter. Boy was he surprised.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked Larry.

No reply came. All four of them just stood in silence, complete silence.  
_

Day Five: 9:46 AM

Henry, Corey, and Lucas were in the ruins of the South Mushroom City Monorail Station. This used to be one of the four main checkpoints of a special monorail that could travel to almost anywhere in the city. Lucky for them, this wasn't a hard place to reach in the commerce capital of the Mushroom Kingdom. This station stood next to the road that lead to the entrance of Mushroom City. Nonetheless, clearing zombies in the building proved to be a pain in their bums. Luckily, they managed to reach the station area. All they needed to do now was to get it working, and then they could get to Anna's hotel and back with only one problem, zombies.

Corey didn't care about the zombies though. All she wanted to do was to save her sister, even if she had to sacrifice herself to do it. Besides, what has she got to lose? She lost her normal life, she lost Cherry, she most likely lost the rest of her family. But worst of all, she lost her true love, Tom. If she hadn't panicked and crashed into that tree the other day, he wouldn't have gotten bitten and died. It was her fault, and she knew that she would never love another fiance again because of what she did. She had to right her wrong, redeem herself by saving the last person she cared about left, Anna.

Henry felt obligated to help Corey however he could. He promised that he would help her find and rescue her sister, or die trying. But he couldn't help but get the feeling of dread, that something horrible would happen. Henry knew the risk, but he had to take it, even if it lead to his murder at the hands of cadavers.

Lucas would follow Henry, but he just hoped for the possibility that he would survive this whole catastrophe.

The three understood that if they went to the hotel via monorail, they could never turn back until they at least tried to save Anna, along with any other survivors they encountered. They only had one try, so it would be best if they didn't screw it up. They were ready.

The power switch was in the office, where a zombie resided. Henry swiftly stabbed it in the head, and he found the power switch.

No turning back now..., he thought as he pulled the switch.  
_

Day Five: 10:00 AM

Toad and Conrad took their turns on guard duty. Both of them felt it was necessary to guard the hospital, but this was the most boring job in the entire survivor camp. They had to sit on a gate for an hour and kill zombies that crossed their path. Couldn't they get a more interesting job that didn't require sitting around the entire time? The answer was no. They couldn't.

Typical Doctor Walsh, Conrad thought.

He hated that guy. He locked him and four other people in an office to keep zombies from flooding out of the area. Pretty stupid move if you asked Conrad or Kim. Conrad was also uncomfortable with the fact that Wes held no grudge against the doctor, even though Wes was one of the five people who got trapped in the office. He never understood that young adult koopa.

Toad was a lazy fella, but he could do any job if he needed to. In his younger days, he won third place at a Beanish Dance feis, second in a cooking show, and even first place in an archery showdown at Fahr Outpost. He was the hospital's jack of all trades. But what occurred next was definitely not something he was good at dealing with.

A pink toad with long, mushroom hair struggled to walk towards the gate. Oh dear god. It was-

"*GASP* TOADETTE!" screamed Toad in utter shock.

The zombie who was walking towards the gate was none other than Toad's former girlfriend, Toadette. She was Peach's personal servant every other day, and she was the grand-niece of Toadsworth.

The moment Toad screamed, Conrad slipped off the gate catwalk, and onto the truck parked nearby. How fortunate. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and some of the other hospital survivors rushed to Toad's aid. However, the moment the Mario Bros. saw Toadette, everyone else stopped dead in their tracks. Conrad accidentally opened the gate the moment he slipped off the gate. To everyone's relief, Luigi took the initiative. He shot Toadette in the head before she got any closer to Peach, the closest person to the gate.

Toad broke down in tears, for his fiance, like Corey's, was now also dead. He couldn't believe that this happened so suddenly. It was too bad for him that he couldn't see her one last time before she became a walking corpse. Peach did the same thing Toad did, for Toadette was a very close friend of her's. No one at the scene could believe that this was how Toadette met end, not even Luigi, who put her out of her misery for good.

And just when you think the day couldn't turn out any worse, you wouldn't know how wrong you'd be until it hit you right in the face. At that moment, Mario came to understand that life was full of hard knocks, and there was no way you could avoid them. And he also learned a much more important lesson: you won't know what you have until it is gone.

Mario rushed over to Luigi, and he squeezed him like he never did before. Luigi embraced the brotherly love, and he hugged his brother back.

The elder, shorter Mario brother said the one thing that his taller, younger brother was hoping for all day.

"I forgive you. Obsessing about Bowser coming to ruin our lives over and over again was ridiculous. And for that, I'm sorry."

"I forgive you too Mario." Luigi responded. "And I'm sorry as well."  
_

 **Sorry if I rushed the events in the story a little bit. I just wanted to get this chapter out while I had time. Please leave comments and reviews about this chapter, and make some suggestions for bonus chapters! If I missed anything, I will gladly use some of that information to create a bonus chapter to use later on in _A Ghastly Epidemic_. Also, there is a Story Summary Chapter that will help you remember the main events in the story. Be sure to use that if you aren't sure about something in the story.**

 **Also, the departure of Wendy's group is legit. They literally abandoned their father and brothers to escape the importance of family. They will return to the main story soon, but until then, they will only appear in the next chapter, and then a bonus chapter or two.**

 **Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time kupo!**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	12. Chapter 11: Then and Now

**Hello guys! This chapter is mostly about the histories of several of the characters! This chapter will also include scenes of how a few of them are doing. Unfortunately, Corey's resolve will have to wait until next chapter. I'm in the process of figuring out what exactly is going to happen in that area of the story. Until then, learn more about the characters; don't forget to leave a review! Thank you, and enjoy.**

 **Also, I got rid of the Story Summary feature. Sorry for any inconveniences.**

 **In this chapter, Beanish Dance is actually Irish Dance, and Northern Chai language is the Japanese language (I improvised).**

 **By this time, ArcanetheGreat has left, so I, FinalMagus25 will be continuing these stories on my own. Don't worry though, ArcanetheGreat will write in the summertime. He's planning on writing a story of his own. Right now though, he's just too busy to be working on FanFiction stories.  
** **_**

 _ **Chapter Eleven: Then and Now**_

Day Five: 9:10 AM

The four male koopas were four miles away from Mushroom City, their destination. Bowser and Ludwig sat in the front, while Larry and Roy sat in the rear.

Larry was disappointed in his other siblings. He wanted to rescue Bowser Jr., his other brother, but clearly Wendy and co. had other plans. Why was he the only brother who really cared about his family?

Roy was confused about what happened six minutes earlier. One moment, he was smoking zombies with his cannon, and then the next moment, half of his family left him in the dust. _Pieces of crap_ , he thought.

For Ludwig and Bowser, Wendy, Iggy, and Morton abandoning them was rather infuriating! No joke. They were too selfish to risk their lives to help rescue Bowser Jr. In fact, if they weren't so selfish, Lemmy probably wouldn't be dead. _They just had to leave him to get bitten while I was accidentally the first one to get out!_ , Ludwig thought angrily. Bowser Koopa was outraged that his own family would leave him. _When I get my hands on them, they'll be sorry they messed with their father_ , He thought. But as they drove towards Mushroom City, little did they know that their crusade would certainly not end in the way they expected...  
_

 _Day Five: 9:12 AM_

"I hate dad." Wendy grunted in outrage, furiously flooring the gas pedal. "He doesn't get to decide whether to put us on a suicide mission or not!"

"I agree with you Wendy." Iggy said in the back seat, setting up a first aid kit (for himself mostly, but if anyone else needed it, he'd be cautious about what to use). "But are you really sure that this is the best plan of action?"

"I am sure you nerd." Wendy scoffed. "Why else do you think that we're driving in the opposite direction?"

"But why are we speeding at 100 Miles an hour!?" Morton screamed in alarm.

"Will you shut your pie hole?" Wendy yelled to the back row of seats, where Iggy and Morton both sat. And that's when Morton spotted the one thing that would ruin their day.

"BANANA STRIP!" Morton warned Wendy, who turned to look at the road, reacting at what she saw.

"WHAT!?" Wendy screeched. Banana peels covered the whole area of the road; there was no way that they could be able to drive around it.

This also caught Iggy's attention, signified by him tightening his seat belt until he could barely breathe. Wendy hit the brakes as hard as she could, but it was no use! The car drove right over the banana strip. They all yelled as their car uncontrollably steered right into an abandoned row of cars on the street!

 **CRASH!**  
 **_**

Flashback: Toad Town, Mushroom Kingdom, 2000

8:05 AM

The headline. What a horrible sight to behold on this day, especially since these two countries were still allies at the time...

 **THE MUSHROOM TIMES**

 _ **KING MORTON KILLED IN HUGE CAR ACCIDENT!**_

 **by Regina Phalange**

 _ **Widely beloved King Morton, aged 53 today, was caught in a catastrophic car accident right outside of Mushroom City at 5:23 AM this morning. On his way to meet with King Toadstool, he was hurled out of his limosine, and right into another car! The Koopa Kingdom's monarch was then brought to the hospital where he died of head trauma, kidney failure from drinking, and various cuts caused by glass. As the kingdom laments, Bowser, Morton's son will be crowned King of the Koopa Kingdom by the end of the week. But until then, the prince has allowed the provisional government to take temporary control as Bowser mourns his dead father and watches over his adopted son, Ludwig. Today, the two kingdoms are celebrating the King's life, as people say he wouldn't have wanted anyone to feel sorrow on his dying day. Today has become a special Koopa Kingdom holiday, King Morton's day.  
**_

"Well, at least he's being honored. That guy was a good king." Amelia McCallister reacted as she read the newspaper.

"Who mommy?" asked a five-year old Henry McCallister, Amelia's son.

"Nothing my pumpkin. Nothing you need to worry about..."

 _How nice of the Mushroom Kingdom to celebrate today with their_ neighbor., thought the twenty-six year old mother, laying on the couch. _I wonder what's on the next page..._ Amelia was an avid reader. She loved to read the newspaper and wonder what was happening, and why. In fact, she just started her own online blog about her favorite books to read, not that many people would check it out.

 **THE DAILY GOOMBA**

 _ **PRINCE FATHER-LORD.**_

 **by Lewis Kopper**

 ** _Prince Bowser, who recently lost his father, King Morton to a car accident, has been seen walking around his father's castle, with not one, but three baby koopas in hand! The Daily Goomba news team interviewed the soon to be ruler of the Koopa Kingdom about his two new adopted children._**

 ** _"I felt that I could handle one child easily, so why not handle three? I just lost my dad, so I only had my one-year old son, Ludwig left in my family. I felt that his legacy couldn't just continue with only me and Ludwig. Besides, I have a way with kids. How hard could raising a couple more possibly be? These two cousins I adopted will be named Lemmy and Roy Koopa. I tend to have a habit of naming my kids after famous musicians. Spoiler alert, but more are on the way!"_**

 ** _News reports have identified that Bowser Koopa is not married, and that he certainly doesn't plan to get married any time soon. So if he is having more kids, he's most likely adopting them._**

"Okay... very interesting."

"Interesting?" asked Henry. A very literate koopa, for a five-year old, Henry excelled in Language Arts. He already had a talent with writing at this age.

"Yes son." Amelia replied. "Very interesting..."  
 **_**

Day Five: 6:42 AM

Henry was thinking about his mother. Amelia, a very kind hearted and intelligent koopa, was either dead, or surviving, unable to know if her son could contact her. His father died the day before he was born, so it was just him and her, until he graduated from high school at sixteen. If only he could see her again...

But alas, he needed to help Corey through her dilemma. She lost Tom; she couldn't lose Anna either. Speaking of Tom, Corey was feeling worse for wear. She certainly wouldn't be over Tom's death anytime soon. Henry felt as though he had to help her. Or, did he start to have feelings for her? No. He couldn't have. She's a toad, he's a koopa. The two species don't mix. _There's no way she'd fall for me..._ , he thought.

As Corey drove onto Moonview Highway, and Lucas slept in the rear, Henry couldn't help but pop a question.

"So, when I was five, my mother read a newspaper article written by Lewis Kopper..."

"My grandfather?" she asked.

"He's your granddad?"

"Yeah, he worked at _The Daily Goomba_ , writing stories of major interest to distribute to the public. He died a few years back so..."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." Corey interrupted him. A habit of hers. "What was your mother like?"

"She loved to read stories. I became a writer so she could read mine..." Henry just realized he just said one of his most private secrets to someone he's only know for about a week.

"I know, I just embarrassed myself in front of you."

"Yup. *giggle*"

As the two talked on and on about their families, they could help but feel something. Heart-to-heart perhaps.  
 **_**

Flashback: Sunbeam Plains, Mushroom Kingdom, 2014

Another day, another Princess Peach rescue mission for Mario and Luigi...

Wes Sirius desperately searched the battlefield for other injured officers... The Mario Bros. defeated many of Bowser's forces, yet they've been trying really hard to keep them alive, then move on. They wanted to set a good example to others, injuring, but not killing soldiers who crossed their path. All they wanted to do was to save Princess Peach. Wes was just lucky enough to end up with a concussion rather than broken bones. These other soldiers suffered much worse. _Man, I wish I could be like Mario and Luigi, help others without killing the people that hurt them,_ thought the sixteen-year old private. And yet, he was in no position to plead his case.

Conrad Gibson had it bad, but his injury also gave him relief. As a paratroopa, he used to try to snipe the red and green plumbers in midair, what he was assigned to do by his commander. This time, he was guaranteed the chance to go home, and try to move out of his accursed home, to the Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, Mario had to use another koopa's rifle to shoot him down. Holes in his wings and a bullet lodged in his ankle, Conrad could no longer see battle, to fight against men he had no intention of fighting. Of course, he would need to sneak out. If he tried to leave legally, he'd get caught, and get imprisoned or murdered for treason. In spite of his pain, he blessed the Mario Bros. in secret, wishing for them to save the Princess once more.  
 **_**

Day Five: 7:16 AM

Wes spent the last hour on guard duty with James, a toad who tended to hang out with Sam, Jonah and Silas very often. That chatterbox had long-term memory loss, so much of what he wanted to say to Wes slipped from his mind. Not that Wes would hang out with him again anytime soon. James was a rather insulting douchebag in fact. A racist too. He didn't like beans from the Beanbean Kingdom at all. He said tons of crap that made Wes want to punch him in the face. I mean come on. Everyone has a breaking point, even Wes. In spite of him usually being a nice person, he couldn't stand for the crap a certain species says about another one. As soon as Jordan and Rebecca took their shifts, Wes began to retreat to his room, where he could get forget this whole, wasted hour ever happened. _Prick_ _,_ he thought about James as he left to take his well needed nap.

Conrad was doing his daily exercise routine to get ready for the day. He was doing push-ups when someone unexpected knocked on the door. It was Ashley.

"Can I help you miss?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Yeah. Leave my brother alone." she spat. "You've got no right act like an arse to him."

"Oh really? Of course I can! He could've killed me. He could've killed Kim or Wes. And he most certainly caused Lloyd and Mike to fall prey to the dead. By the way, I don't remember his pipsqueak little sister coming to my room, telling me to treat him as though he was a good samaritan."

"He was just trying to protect everybody else! If he didn't, we would be dead you retard."

"No we wouldn't. You had plenty of guns, plenty of ammunition, plenty of time to help us. But you didn't!"

Conrad slammed the door in Ashley's face. This just irked her, big time.

"You know what? Go piss yourself! Why do I even bother trying?"

As she stormed off, Conrad went back to doing push-ups. But he couldn't help but wonder about the adolescent toad who stormed off to her room. _Quite a double-sided girl Sam has for a sister,_ the veteran believed.  
 **_**

Flashback: Yoshi Theater, Beanbean Kingdom, 2015

Toad wearily walked off the stage. As an open champion in Beanish Dance, Toad danced with all of his energy, also keeping his form from breaking. Toadette and Yoshi, his two closest friends were there to see him face off against other competitors. He specifically danced _King of the Sprixies_ , a traditional hard shoe dance in the Beanbean Kingdom. It was one of the harder traditional sets that a few of the dancers at the Yoshi Theater Feis.

Toad began to walk over to where Toadette and Yoshi sat. At this time, Toadette was merely his best friend. They wouldn't be dating until next year. Yoshi, even though he was around forty to fifty years old (his age is not implied), he still looked thirty. Yoshis are one of the few species of dinosaur that exist in the Mario Bros. World, ranging in many different colors. The yoshi who Toad was talking to was colored green.

"Great job Toad!" Toadette cheered for her friend, amazed at his talent for dancing.

"Yeah dude!" said Yoshi in applause. "You kicked ass like a pro today!"

"Thanks guys. *huff* Beanish Dance sure does *puff* take that energy *wheeze* out of you."

Toad was proud of himself. Earlier today, we placed in the top eight in his other four dances. As talented as he was though, the best he got today was a 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th place in the dances (not in that order). He was hoping to get in the top three in his trad set.

Thirty minutes later...

 **Dansā konnichiwa!**

Everyone at Yoshi Theater looked over to the stage. The speaker spoke in Northern Chai tongue, the main language in the Chai Kingdom, which is one of the four sub-kingdoms of Sarasaland. Most of the competition did not speak the language, so a translator walked on stage to translate what the announcer said.

 **Hello Dancers!**

"Here I go..." Toad said. It was time to rank Toad's trad set division.

 **Koko ni wa, 18-sai kara 21-sai no dentō-tekina nenrei no kyōsō ni sanka shita dansā no namae ga arimasu!**

 **Here are the names of the dancers who placed in the Ages Eighteen to Twenty-One Traditional Set competition!**

Toad, Toadette, and Yoshi were all on edge. Did Toad place? There were only twenty-four people in his division, so only twelve dancers would place.

English Translation: **In 12th place, Rashid Kimura. In 11th place, Jalen Tilledas. In 10th place...**

Toad did not lose hope. The closer the announcer got to the top three, the better he knew he was at dancing than the other contestants.

 **In 5th place, Rocco Johnston. In 4th place, Varoja Rinehart. Now, for the top three!**

Here it comes.

 **In 3rd place, Toad Shum!**

Toadette and Yoshi cheered and whistled! A podium was brought onstage. Toad couldn't believe his luck! He won third place in his traditional set. His friends urged him to walk onstage, accept his trophy, and stand on the podium. It was the happiest day in his life. He didn't care about who got 2nd or 1st. In his mind, he was the champion.  
 **_**

Day Six: 6:55 AM

It was early in the morning when Toad took his shift with Solomon, a red yoshi. A very stern; silent fellow, the yoshi usually took this shift just to get more sleep. Toad volunteered to take this shift, only because he was too blue to socialize. Toadette's death scarred him for life, and it was something he would have to accept. He was in the stage of depression, the fourth of the five stages of grief. Well, regardless of whether this happened or not, he would stay depressed for too long.

In the distance, a green figure was walking through the misty twilight. It looked to be a male, around his thirties. He had a mustache, a decent sized one too. As he got closer, Toad recognized him immediately.

"Yoshi!?" Toad exclaimed.

A reply came. "Hey there Toad! I was hoping there would be survivors here. I'm glad you're one of them."

"I'm glad you're doing great. Nice mustache.

"Thanks man!"

"H-how have you been?"

"Well, besides the fact that probably half of the people in the world are now dead, I'm okay. And you?"

"Well, no. I'm no where close to okay."

 _This isn't like Toad. Something must have happened...,_ thought Yoshi.

"Are you alright?" Where's Toadette? I've been meaning to see her..."

"She's well... deceased."

"WHAT? Dammit..." Yoshi reacted.

Toad became silent. He had no intention of talking about his girlfriend's untimely demise during his last two minutes on guard duty.

"Well aren't going to show me inside?" asked Yoshi. It was 33 Degrees Fahrenheit, cold for an early Spring morning.

"Sure pal."

Toad climbed off of the gate's walkway, and down a ladder. At the bottom, he pulled a switched. The gate slowly opened up, creaking as it moved.

"Wait here. I have to get Sam, our leader." Yoshi was confused.

"Isn't Mario the leader here?"

"He's here, but he's not leading." Toad said before he walked back into the hospital, leaving Yoshi with a snoring Solomon in the crystal twilight... The mist of confusion. The mist of enigma began to surround the hospital... and a certain toad had been abducted.  
 **_**

 **I wasn't really planning for this chapter to be a serious one. I just wanted to interest you guys in the histories of some of the main characters (not including the Mario Bros. or Peach). I might make another chapter like this later on, or create an Ultimate guide of the chronological events. But until then, I hope you guys got more interested in the characters now that you learned about their personalities.**

 **Hasta luego! I need to work on playing Summoners War. It's one of my favorite games.**

 **FinalMagus25**


	13. Chapter 12: ANRFTW (1)

**Hey guys! This chapter is dedicated to Cage the Elephant, a band that wrote a song that I'm using for the name of this chapter. This chapter is also the start of a long, and very suspenseful plot-line. At the end of Chapter Eleven, someone was unexpectedly kidnapped. Once you reach Chapter 13, keep your eye out for something wrong, or someone who isn't who they appear to be. Anyway, this is the chapter where Corey's plan is set in motion. Will she succeed in saving her sister? Find out... now.**  
 **_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _**

 _Chapter 12: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked: Part 1_

Day Five: 9:50 AM

The three survivors, guns in hand, rode the creaking monorail over the city. Their destination, Hotel Mario was in plain sight. The monorail would be their way in, but it wouldn't be their way out. They were finally going to save Anna, the one they've be chasing all week. Of course, they would need to return to the monorail station to retrieve some of the precious items they were forced to leave behind.

Corey was now nervous. She, Henry, and Lucas were finally here to save her sister, but now she felt butterflies in her stomach. How would they go about doing this? She knew that Anna lived in Apartment 44A, but she need to find a method of escape for her and her friends. Corey wasn't going to let Tom's death be in vain.

Henry wanted to do everything he could to help Corey's cause, but he couldn't help but care about her and Lucas. What if something went wrong and one of them, or both of them died on his watch? He couldn't let that happen to them. He was beginning to fall in love with the toad he was working with, but he needed to shrug that off and stick to the matter at hand.

Lucas was a coward. He knew it in his heart that he would be the least help to Corey on this mission. But if it was worth trying to save someone, he'd be all for it. He saved Henry last week, he could save someone again this week!

As the monorail rode over to the top of the building, Corey, Henry, and Lucas jumped down onto the soft garden rooftop. They were in the zone, and there would be no turning back now. As Corey and Henry ran for the rooftop door, Lucas could not help but crawl to the door. He had acrophobia, he was horrified of heights. The goomba probably should have thought more about where exactly he and his friends were going to infiltrate the hotel.

"Come on! This way!" Corey whispered loud enough to get Lucas's attention. He got up from the floor and ran into the building, slowly closing the door behind him to keep from drawing attention to himself.

Day Five: 9:49 AM

Bowser didn't take the monorail. Ludwig kept asking him a thousand times to take the 'safer' path, but he refused. He didn't want any of the three koopalings to accidentally fall out of the monorail and miss Hotel Mario. If he just took that path though, his fear wouldn't have occurred. Larry, Ludwig and Roy all had experience in air combat, so they could take care of themselves.

"We are charging in from the entrance." Bowser began to explain his plan. "Larry and Roy, you two lure zombies away from the front entrance while Ludwig and I go inside to get Junior. Oh Larry, just in case you run out of bullets..."

The Koopa King hand his blue-haired son two boxes of extra rounds. Larry hugged his dad, and then pocketed the two boxes of rounds. Bowser also handed Ludwig a box. Of course, this made Roy jealous.

"Really? What about me dad!?"

"You have a Bullet Bill Cannon as a weapon! It's not going to run out of ammunition. That's how Iggy designed it before he up and left us like the idget he is."

"Oh... sorry father."

Roy was military smart, but he was an idiot. He was only seventeen; the only siblings who were dumber than him were Morton and Lemmy.

"Junior is in room 46A. Now I know that is very far up, but the Hotel has a back-up power system. We could easily take the elevator up to Floor 46. Then, after the two of us rescue your brother, you two (talking to Larry and Roy) provide cover for us until we come back! Understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" The three koopalings shouted.

With that, the four charged into the city. Hotel Mario was at the southern part of the city, very close to them. As long as they were provided cover, Bowser and Ludwig would get in quickly.

Day Five: 9:55 AM

Corey, Henry and Lucas shot any zombie that came their way. They were on Floor 50, so they needed to go down six levels. Unfortunately, Corey's group hadn't known that the elevators were fully operational, so they took the stairs. Sometimes, running downstairs can go faster than going down in an elevator. Well not in this hotel. As they ran down the stair, Henry needed to know something.

"Corey?"

"Yeah?" she replied.

"What did Tom tell you before he died?"

"What?"

"I tried to hear what you two were saying back at the hospital. But those two goombas didn't let me in..."

Corey stopped really quick, avoiding falling down the next flight of stairs. They were at Floor 47. Lucas was gasping for breath. He used to work out, but he didn't do a whole lot of running back before the apocalypse.

"Henry, I know you are curious, so please just wait until we save Anna and get out of here?"

"... Fine." he said reluctantly.

"Okay."

So the three continued their run to Floor 44.  
 **_**

Day Five: 9:57 AM

Bowser and Ludwig were really quick to get to the elevator. There were only a few zombies in the foyer, so they were easily shot dead. Bowser tapped the Floor 46 button, anxiously waiting to try to save his son. And then that's when something unexpected happened.

"GAHHH!" Ludwig screamed, crouching down on the floor. Bowser noticed immediately.

"Son! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"MY HEAD!"

Ludwig was having a premonition. In his mind, he a score of It. Their was a scream. The voice could be heard as clear as day. The figure getting eaten was calling for help. It was eating him. It was going to eat him next. It was drawing near...

"*gasp*"

Ludwig snapped out of his vision. His ears were ringing, his eyesight, slightly blurred. What the hell did he just see? Was it Bowser Jr.!? Was he going to die?

"Lud, are you okay? What happened to you?"

He was not okay. The koopaling felt as though his brain was fried. "I... well... long story short, I had a vision. We need to hurry."  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:01 AM

"The door is breaking open!" Jennifer warned her friends. The zombies were finally breaking into the apartment. Anna's front door looked as though it was about to fall down any second now.

"Quick! Get to Floor 45!" Anna yelled, running up the fire escape. Daniel and Jennifer followed, carrying an arm and leg-bound Bowser Jr. Yes, he killed Brian. But Anna felt that it would make her a a bad person if she (essentially) chose to kill someone bad. That's her logic speaking. Constance was slowly following them, unable to run due to her weight. The zombies, faster, started to stumble up the fire escape.

 **AAAAAAAAAGHHHH!**

Constance screamed as a zombie sank its teeth into her foot. Anna turned around sharply, shedding a tear as the zombies began to eat her friend. There was nothing she could do to help her fat friend...

"Anna, we need to go!" Daniel called to the toad. More and more cadavers came the dead roadblock's way. As Anna ran into Apartment 45A with the others, there was a massive amount of creaking. The poundage was took much for the fire escape to take.

Snap!

The staircase broke open, releasing the zombies and Constance from its hold. As the corpses fell to the ground, Jen punched a hole in a nearby wall

Day Five: 10:02 AM

Corey's group shot down the zombies blocking off the knocked down door of Anna's hideaway. She was running out of bullets. Damn!

"Anna! We're here! We are..."

The moment Corey ran into Anna's room, she saw no one there. Henry and Lucas were dumbfounded.

"Where the hell is she? Isn't this her apartment?" Henry asked the blue-capped toad.

"Of course this is her apartment. She wouldn't leave unless... the fire escape!"

Corey darted over to the fire escape, only to find a gaping hole in the stairwell. She couldn't just me gone, could she? No, she just couldn't.

"Anna!" Corey began to call out to her sister, who was right up on the next floor. "Are you here!? We're here to rescue you! Hello?"

"I don't think-" Lucas started to say when someone interrupted him.

"Corey?" asked a younger, azure-capped, female toad, walking into view. It was Anna Kopper, Corey's sister. She was alive! Corey felt true happiness come back into her life. Her sister was finally with her again! To the two Koppers, it was as if they would never leave each other again.

"Sis!"

"Oh my god! This is a miracle! Guys, Corey's here!"

Jennifer and Daniel walked into view, greeting Corey and her friends. Bowser Jr. was handcuffed to refrigerator out of view.

"Wait, who are those two you have with you?" Anna asked, curious. "Where's Tom?"

"He's..."

Corey face-palmed. She still wasn't over the loss of her beloved boyfriend.

"Oh. I'm sorry Corey. I just didn't-"

"It's okay, I know." Corey interrupted her sister. Interrupting people when they were speaking was a Kopper family habit. "But we have to get out of here. Jump over!"

The hole was Constance shaped, a hole that Anna wouldn't have trouble getting over. She used to be on the cheer-leading squad at Glitzville High. She bounced right over the hole, and into her sister's loving arms. But just then, zombies burst into Apartment 45A! Jennifer, who used to do track and field, jumped over the hole with no problem. Daniel, although scared of falling into the hole, jumped over and was caught by Lucas. Everyone was in quite a rush, there was no time for Anna to express her gratitude to her sister and her two new friends.

"Wait! What about-" Anna began to ask Jen.

"No time! We need to go. Besides, that bastard is dead weight."

"Who?" Henry asked, confused.

"Prince Bowser Jr."

Henry and Lucas gaped.

"I'm sorry, what!?" Lucas reacted. "You kept the Koopa King's most valued son prisoner!?"

"Lucas, not now. She can tell us later." Corey shushed him.

As the six started to run downstairs, a scream could be heard in the apartment upstairs.  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:05 AM

"Son! We're here!" Bowser yelled, hopeful that he could see his son again.

But when he and Ludwig barged into Bowser Jr.'s apartment, it was occupied by several dead residents.

"Oh shoot!" he screamed. Jean, presumably the dead hotel manager, was the closest to Ludwig, who was too busy shooting zombies in the hallway. Bowser quickly inhaled, and shot a jet of flame from his maw. All of the zombies in the room began to burn to their deaths. Ludwig sidestepped a burning Jean, then kicked the revenant in the knee, breaking it. As Jean burned to death, Bowser and Ludwig heard a scream.

"Oh no!" Ludwig squeaked.

"Junior!" Bowser screamed at the same time.

The two rushed down the fire escape, hoping to get to Apartment 45A before it was too late. But as the father and son rushed into the apartment, Ludwig was reminded of his vision. Bowser Jr. was hopelessly calling for help as the hungry dead began to feast on flesh. Blood stained the kitchen floor, choking could be heard... then nothing other than the sound of chewing.

The two were stunned. It was too late.

"No..." Bowser said in disbelief. "NOOO!"

At that moment, the zombies turned their heads and started attack the the giant koopa. Bowser pulled out his revolver, putting bullets in the heads of the dead. Filled with a fiery, undeniable rage, Bowser wanted justice. No, he wanted revenge for the loss of another son. But he couldn't shoot them all in such a small space. The cadavers were beginning to overpower him.

"Father! Come on!" yelled Ludwig, who had a head start outside. Ludwig leaped over the gap in the fire escape, and then he waited for his dad to get out of there.

Bowser needed to let his son go. He lost Bowser Jr. since this whole disaster started. Who was he to believe that he of all people could save him? He barrel-rolled out the window, and hurled himself over the gap in the stairwell. He failed his mission. Bowser Jr. was dead...

...

...

...or was he?  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:04 AM

Bowser Jr. was rushing up the fire escape as quick as his two tiny legs could take him. Yup, he picked the right time to use the hidden electrician's knife he snagged from Brian the day he died. But what he didn't expect was to discover a score of biters in his apartment!

"Yikes!" he shrieked as he quickly went downstairs; back into that accursed Apartment 45A. He couldn't jump very far, so he couldn't jump the gap if he tried. Junior had to find a place to safely hide. It wasn't until the zombies began climbing into the apartment window that he found the right place, in the kitchen sink cabinet. But there was one problem. Some guy was already in there.

"*Snore* Huh... Wha?" mumbled Lawrence, a visitor.

"Hey, GET OUT!" Bowser Jr. yelled impatiently. He was just like his father when he was younger.

"W-Who the hell are you...?" The toad asked. From the looks of him, the prince concluded that Lawrence clearly had a odd hangover.

"I said get out you drunkard!" Junior dragged Lawrence out of the kitchen cabinet and hopped inside, holding it closed. That space was rather cramped due to there being a large, green; conspicuous pipe connected to the nonoperational sink located above him. The warp pipe system was now being used as the waste management system, which Junior found appalling.

"Hey you... You stole my BED!" screamed Lawrence, gargling with sleepiness. And then that's when it happened. The young heir heard munching sounds, and Lawrence's choking. Blood slowly started to seep into the kitchen cabinet crack, oozing onto Bowser Jr.'s arm. The kid began to shiver. Death had him cornered. That's when his family came down.

"Oh no!" Ludwig squeaked.

"Junior!" Bowser screamed at the same time.

"Dad? Ludwig? Is that you two!?" Bowser began asking. The zombies heard Junior, so they ceased eating whatever meat remained on Lawrence's crippled body and they began to bang on the kitchen sink's cabinet. The young koopa's heart rate began to increase in speed. He felt panic. He wanted to leave and go back to being the spoiled brat he enjoyed being before this whole thing started. He wouldn't have ended up here if he refused his father's command to smuggle weapons into Mushroom City!

"HELP ME! PLEASE!" Bowser Jr. repeatedly called out to his two family members, but no reply came. He looked back at the pipe... he had an idea. If the brat was going to have any chance of surviving this encounter, he would need to disconnect the pipe from the sink and hop in. He pulled with all of his might. He needed to get it open now...  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:10 AM

"Hurry people! Hurry!" Corey kept yelling.

The six survivors were still running down the long staircase. Why in the world didn't Mario ask to install escalators!? Lucas thought wearily, his legs losing energy. He was breathing rather heavily, for he and his friends were now on Floor 23. He skidded to a stop the moment they reached the next landing. Daniel, Anna and Henry were all also tired as hell. Corey and Jen decided to stop with them. They needed a break. A few zombies were following them from upstairs; a few others were falling down the stairs and bashing their own heads into the floor by accident.

"Hold on guys, we'll cover you!" Jen stated, shooting zombies from above. The dead could barely climb stairs, let alone walk down them. As Henry and Anna helped Daniel and Lucas down the stairs, the other two survivors carefully walked sideways down the stairwell, blowing off dead heads.

Day Five: 10:10 AM

"What's taking them so long?" Larry asked, hoping his brother would have an answer.

"Damned if I know. But they can't be dead, so just keep shooting and shut up."

Whatever hothead...

Bowser said that it would take him and Ludwig ten minutes to get Bowser Jr. and come back. It's been twenty-one! Larry was really starting to get worried. What if they couldn't make it out? What if they are dead, or worse? Larry gulped, continuing to shoot down zombies with his brother.  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:13 AM

They were on Floor 15. Corey and co. were beginning to make the home stretch. Lucas was very worse for wear, for running down a staircase was not his idea of a quick getaway. In fact, it wasn't quick at all. Zombies were still chasing them, but at a much slower rate at least.

"Come on guys! Don't stop!" Corey commanded, urging for them to continue.

Freedom was in their grasp. Anna would finally be able to smell the outside air of lush forests, and feel the natural breeze flow past her. But most of all, she'd be with her sister, and they wouldn't lose each other ever again. The survivors were now on Floor 9, Corey being the only one left who hasn't gotten tired from the run. As the Kopper sisters ran on ahead (and tired as heck), the others had something, no, someone in their lines of sight.

"Harold?" asked Jen, gasping for breath. Harold was her college roommate, who lived on this floor. But she wasn't going to like what she saw when she got closer.

Grrrhrrrr...

"OH MY F-"

Jen almost slipped onto her back, but kept her balance when she stopped. Harold was dead... and hungry.

"Watch out!" screamed Henry, shoving Jen out of the way. Harold pounced onto Henry, biting at the koopa. Henry was using all of his might just to keep the killer off of him.

"Henry!" Lucas yelled with the last of his oxygen, fainting. He tumbled right into Daniel, who was also weak from the spiral descent.

"Gahhhhhhh!" Henry yelled, finding the strength to throw Harold off of him and shell roll away. He bounced off of several walls, until he found himself on the Floor 7 landing.

Blam!

Jen put a bullet in Harold's head, and then helped Daniel to pick up Lucas and run. Henry shook off his momentary feeling of numbness and continued to run down the stairwell, unaware of what Harold just did to him...  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:15 AM

The elevator was silent ever since Bowser and Ludwig found a way in. The Koopa King couldn't shake the false truth that Bowser Jr., his only birth son was gone forever. A void began to grow in his heart, for he wouldn't forget the day he believed his son was confiscated from him by death.

Ludwig could only stand still, thinking of how much he had failed his father. Neither of them would be the same again, all because of Bowser Jr.'s apparent 'death' at the hands of It.

As the two stood in silence, a beep sounded. They were back at the foyer. The two readied their guns, with their one purpose now being to flee for their miserable lives.  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:16 AM

Corey kicked the door to the stairwell open. It was already utter chaos down here.

"WHY... didn't we take the elevator!?" Daniel gasped for breath as he and Jennifer dropped Lucas onto the ground. The answer to his question stood in his direction. Bowser and Ludwig were stuck in an open elevator, shooting down a crowd of corpses that began to surround them.

"What is Bowser doing here?" Henry asked, confused with the appearance of The Koopa King in Hotel Mario.

Jen replied, "Probably here for his kid. He's too late anyway."

As the others started to walk towards the exit - the zombies were too focused and Bowser and Ludwig to notice them - Anna snatched an M16 from the duffel bag she was given earlier.

"SIS!" Corey reacted. "What are you-"

Anna shot wildly at the zombies cornering the two over-sized koopas. She didn't have good aim, for she never used a gun before. But her friendly fire was helping the two members of the Royal Family. As Anna killed half of the zombies, Bowser inhaled sharply, then exhaled a Bonzai Bill shaped fireball at the savage dead. They were all starting to burn to a crisp. Although dead, the zombies felt the agonizing inferno that was consuming them. One by one, the zombies barring Bowser's path felt to the floor, finally at peace.

Corey's group was filled with shock. Anna just saved the behind of a malevolent, lowlife king! As Lucas began to wake up, Bowser strode towards Anna, the only survivor who was kind enough to save his ass.

"Eeek! What is King Bowser doing here?" Lucas shrieked, only just noticing Bowser and Ludwig. He and others crouched behind the young toad girl, afraid of what he could do...

This is what Bowser said.

"Thank you... You saved our lives. And for that, I'm grateful."

The solemn faced giant held out his hand, Anna likewise. The two shook hands. Although Anna was a complete stranger to Bowser, she won his unexpected trust. Bowser was a dick; never this modest.

Ludwig was dumbfounded. This was not at all like the Bowser he knew. Perhaps his loss of Junior sparked a change of heart inside of him...?

The six survivors all stood there, all confused about why exactly these two others were here. As it turns out, Bowser found something different than who he and his eldest son were hoping to save. Bowser certainly has changed in the last eleven minutes since he witness Bowser Jr.'s death (escape). He'd like to get to know himself differently, but also these new people who were traveling with his savior.

As the others were walking outside to greet Roy and Larry, Henry felt blood slowly trickle down his calf.

"What the..."

He checked his leg, only to find his worst nightmare come to life...

"*gasp*"  
 **_**

 **That is the end of Chapter Twelve. I know that this was a ridiculously long chapter, but it was necessary for it to be this long. Excuse me for rushing half of the events in this chapter, but I had to use this new method. If I used too much of the chapter to focus on angst, it wouldn't be very suspenseful would it?**

 **Also, Bowser Jr. is still alive if you haven't been paying attention to this chapter. Everyone else thinks he's dead though. Because of that traumatic experience, Bowser's personality is changing. It's weird, but necessary until the Koopa King can learn to cope with the "loss" of his son. Also, if you are confused about Henry's injury, read that section over and over until you figure it out.**

 **Things will get cleared up in Chapter 13, but other things will get foggier. I know because it just happened in this chapter. So stay tuned!**

 **FinalMagus25**


	14. Lost Chapter 2

**This happens right before Cherry and Alan's deaths. Right now, it will be insanely sketchy at this point of the story. But once you reach Chapter 45, some of the content in this chapter will make more sense. Of course, you'll really have to wait until my upcoming story, Tessaract Unbound comes out (which probably won't be out for years) to really understand the content.**

 **This lost chapter was originally what we were going to use for a Five Nights at Freddy's story, but I deem a story like that too predictable (as in people already know how scary it would be and try to avoid it), so I ruled out making such Fanfic. Sorry ArcanetheGreat. Not only that, but the title of Lost Chapter 2 refers to a key character and a key year in said game's franchise. If you want, check out the Game Theorist's Channel on Youtube for more!  
** _

 _Lost Chapter Two: Code xXM1ic9ha8e3lXx_

The source code. Everything on the online page you're on is made from the source code. However, this was no ordinary code, something that Alan, E. Gadd's part-time whistle blower was about to find out.

The red-capped toad stared at the pitch black page that suddenly appeared on his screen that day, befuddled by its meaning. He felt as though inertia was grasping at him from the computer on his desk. He was beginning to believe that the computer screen was enticing him... asking him to come closer.

And that's when a realization slapped him in the face. It was a black hole that he was actually looking at on the screen, not a strangely mesmerizing black background. How the illustration was giving him the slight feel of a black hole was an enigma. He knew it had something to do with the source code. The problem was, the source code was made up of vowels, consonants, and numerals.

 **xXM1ic9ha8e3lXx**

"What the hell?" Alan uttered under his breath.

Discarding the X letters, Alan translated the code into two terms: 1983 and Michael. A thousand questions popped into his head. Who was Michael? Why did 1983 appear in the source code? How was this picture created?

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why?

Alan didn't know it, but he was unintentionally meddling in affairs involving other worlds, other realities, other dimensions. This picture of a black hole shouldn't exist here, not that he knew that. He needed to investigate this picture. Police work can wait five minutes.

That's when Cherry, his partner and Corey's best friend walked over. Alan had this crush on Cherry since she was assigned to the precinct, but he kept himself from asking her out. He was thirty-one, divorced, and his son lived lived with his ex-wife. He feared that she would leave him for someone else.

"Hey Alan. What's up?" the innocently rude toad woman asked him.

"Hi. I was just-"

Cherry took a close, uninvited peek at Alan's screen. The source code made zero sense to her.

"Is that supposed to be the source code?"

"Yes." Alan replied. "It's quite strange..."

Alan dragged his mouse across the source code, and then he copied and pasted it into the search bar. Only two results came up on the search list. One of them was the page he was just viewing. The other website read:

"WCR89875KAUC6824NMKCUM76278762"

 _Should I click on it?_ , Alan asked himself. Was clicking on this website really a good idea? Could it be what he was looking for?

 ***click***

"What do you think is on this website?" Cherry asked Alan, curious.

"Well we're about to find out."

The page took fifteen seconds to load. What the two toads found on the site was bewildering. This was a website that talked about things that shouldn't exist in this universe. On one page, they researched information of a universe where several things were different there than in their world. No cars. No advanced technology other than the pipe system. Bowser is an orphan and Peach hides a secret vendetta...?

"This doesn't make sense." Cherry reacted to the information right in front of her. "Whoever created this website must be insane!"

"No kidding." Alan replied, bewildered. "I need to send the link to Professor Elvin Gadd so he can research this."

"Why?"

"Every now and then, whenever I find something strange in life, I send it to him so he can investigate it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"I didn't think...

Uh oh. Alan wasn't expecting her to ask this specific question. The next words he said were spoken simply out of panic.

"I didn't think you'd be interested." he lied, trying to avoid saying that she was privacy breaker.

"What did you just say!?" Cherry screamed, losing her temper. "Of course I'd be interested!"

"Hey! Quiet down over there would ya?" yelled the captain of the precinct, Tanya.

As Cherry walked back to her desk, Alan couldn't help but think he made things worse between them. But now wasn't the time to be attentive about trying to start another relationship. He needed to figure out what this website meant. Apologies would have to wait.

On the website, Alan found information about more than just other versions of their own world. He glimpsed pictures of a pink creature, a yellow mouse with electric powers, and even a blonde-haired hero clad in green. He saw photos of a young woman wear a robotic suit, and a blue hedgehog who is rumored to move at the speed of sound. But the stories don't stop there. There were tales of an "Ex-Soldier", a world-travelling savior with a "keyblade", and animatronics possessed by murdered children. While reading, he felt the constant need to be like Cherry. He felt the need to be involved in foreign affairs. Alan had to go tell somebody...

...no, everybody.

But just then, he heard the sound of a loud gunshot, and the noise of zombies moaning.  
 **_**

 **Team ArcanetheGreat**


	15. Chapter 13: ANRFTW (2)

**Oh, hey guys! This is the final chapter of Season One of _A Ghastly Epidemic_. I've decided to split this story into four parts, with this chapter concluding the first part of the story. Here's how the story will be structured:**

 **Book One: Discord (Chapters 1-13)**

 **Book Two: Eradication (Chapters 14-26)**

 **Book Three: Aggression (Chapters 27-39)**

 **Book Four: Dystopia (Chapters 40-53)**

 **You may have a ton of questions about this series. Therefore, when the story is finished, I will make a final reference guide to answer all of your questions as best as I can. But enough about that. Let's get this show on the road!  
_**

 _Chapter Thirteen: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked: Part 2_

Day Five: 10:25 AM

Ludwig strode along the boulevard, still trying to wrap his head around what just happened. Everything that occurred in the last half of an hour went by very fast. Too fast for his taste. He felt as though he was ostracized from the rest of the group, for he had the power of premonition. Not only that, but he was the only other survivor besides his father and Larry who was in a wreck because of the fate of Bowser Junior. He felt the urge to look for alcohol and drown his sorrows.

"Hey bro." Larry spoke to Ludwig. "I'm sorry about Junior."

"I know." Ludwig replied sullenly. "We were so close to saving him... so close!"

Anna looked behind her to notice the koopaling's sadness, but thought better than to try and comfort him. Saving Ludwig and Bowser was the right thing to do back at the hotel, but she didn't trust the British turtle. She knew something was off about him...

"You did the best you could Ludwig." Larry continued to cheer his brother up. "As long as we keep him in our memory, he'll never be truly dead. The same goes for Lemmy. All we can do now is move forward."

"That's easy enough for you to say you bloke... I also had the chance to save Lemmy too *sniffle*, but... *sniffle*"

The elder brother shed dozens of silent tears. Larry may have also shed a tear, maybe two. As the two continued to walk with the other members in their party, Corey felt Tom's final words nag at her from inside her head.  
 **_**

Day Five: 9:59 AM

"Yoshi?" Peach asked in surprise.

"Yeah! That green dinosaur friend of ours is alive!" Anthony exclaimed to Mario and Princess Peach. "He arrived not too long ago, but his stay isn't temporary. He told me to tell you two to bring Luigi and chat with him while you had the chance."

"That's great Anthony..." Mario said, embarrassed. "But did you really need to barge in here and tell us while we're in nude in bed?"

"*!* Oops... Heh heh..."

Anthony slowly walked backwards; out of the room. From upstairs, Anthony heard Toad's scream.  
 **_**

Day Five: 7:12 AM

There was a knock on the office door.

"Come in!" yelled a male voice from inside.

Kim opened the door slowly. She was eager, yet timid about telling Sam what she just saw in a blood sample room around the corner.

"Oh, hello." Said Sam. "How can I help you?"

"First of all Sam, don't pretend that I'm not still pissed with you about the lockdown incident."

"Okay, okay. Yeesh."

Kim thought that was out of character for Sam, but she continued to talk nontheless.

"Secondly, I was rummaging through the blood sample room for something of use for survival, when I stumbled upon a peculiar sight."

"And what is that?" Sam asked her.

"You have two different blood samples written under your name. One is A-, and the other is O+."

The toad flinched.

"Would you like to tell me the reason for this mix up?" Kim asked, hoping to expose this conspiracy and overthrow Sam. She finally had him pinned into a corner. She thought she found the key to becoming the new leader of the hospital.

But she didn't see this coming. Sam began to sneer sinisterly. His face turned from a scared pale to a devilish red. He cackled evilly, which scared Kim ****less. He leaped from his desk and grasped Kim's face with his left hand. She was struggling to breathe, struggling to wrench herself free from the doctor's hold. But it was he who had control over the bumpty nurse. Sam brandished a scalpel in his right hand.

"Guess what?" He said in a Rumpelstiltskin-like voice.

He leaned closer to Kim, close enough for him to whisper.

"I aM NoT sAm. DiDn'T hE eVeR tElL yOu He HaD a BrOtHeR!?"

Kim was helpless to act as the psychopath shoved the scalpel into her temple. And thus, Kim loosed one final tear as she lifelessly fell to the floor, dead as a nail. As icky, red blood trickled out of her head, the mad brother of Sam closed in on the corpse, bashing the scalpel into her head, again, and again, and again, and again...

...

...

...until her head looked like nothing more than a bloody meat mulch. Mr. Welsh, happy as can be, licked her blood off the scalpel.  
 **_**

Day Five: 10:01 AM

The moment Peach arrived at the bathroom, she shrieked. Kim's body laid there in the middle of the room, with the remains of her head lying in a nearby sink. Peach puked in her mouth, trying to stay calm and sane. Toad was crying in the corner of the room, unable to bear the loss of a hospital survivor he befriended.

"WHY? *sobs* Who would do such a g-g-g-grisly deed?"

Mario arrived right after Peach, shivering at the sight of Kim's corpse. Anthony, Wes, and Sam (His brother actually) came in right after him.

"Oh god!" Wes exclaimed. "Kim...?"

"What in the world happened here?" Mario screamed, shocked.

"I found her like this..." Toad responded. "I just needed to use the bathroom. I *sniff* had no idea she was-"

Wes was good friends with Kim. Anthony was allied with Kim. 'Sam' killed Kim, but no one else in the hospital knew it.

"Don't worry Toad. Come with me." Wes said, offering to comfort the depressed toad.

As Wes and Toad walked out of the bathroom, Peach leaned closer to Kim's mashed up head. Kim's eyeballs were slightly rolling closer together. A piece of brain fell down the drain.

"I can only conclude that she head was repeatedly bashed in, then severed from the body." She started to deduce. "However, this couldn't have been where she died because there aren't any blood stains on the floor."

The murderer silently slipped away from the crime scene so he could go pretend to be Sam. Anthony walked away, going through the five stages of grief as he went.

"I guess we need to break it to the others." said Mario.

"You're right, but what about Yoshi?"

"Peach, what's more important? Our meeting with Luigi and Yoshi, or announcing the loss of Kim to the rest of the hospital?"

Peach didn't answer that question. Instead of getting into another heated argument, she walked out of the bathroom find Brooke and borrow her 'Do not cross' police tape.

"Oh screw it." Mario told himself before leaving the blood and mucus-infested bathroom himself.  
 **_**

Day Five: 11:07 AM

Corey and co. exited the monorail station after retrieving their supplies. But Corey had something she needed to tell everyone. She has been thinking about this issue since Tom passed away at the hospital.

"Excuse me everyone. I have something I need to tell all of you before we continue."

"Can you tell me after I take a leak?" Bowser asked.

"Sure." replied Corey.

Bowser walked away to privately take care of his business. But Corey deemed it best to at least tell everyone else first.

"I had a boyfriend, but he recently... passed away. But he-"

"Get on with it." Roy interrupted, shooting an approaching zombie.

"He told me about a secret base that lies on the border of Sarasaland."

Everyone except Roy was surprised. Lucas gawked in awe, astounded by this fact that his fellow survivor has been keeping a secret for a while now.

"We have about a thousand miles to travel in order to arrive there, but we could use the base as a permanent hideout."

"So let me get this straight." Roy argued. "You want to travel a thousand miles to find a zombie-proof shelter so you can privately cower in fear?"

Corey was getting irked by the Koopaling's protests.

"For your information, that base could be the only remaining safe haven! Maximum security. High food supply. Emergency warp pipes!"

"Bro, I have to agree with the toad on this one." Larry joined in. "We've had little to no rest for days! We are almost out of water, and we're running low on food. She- What's her name again... Corey. Corey is just looking out for everyone."

"Larry, shut up!" Roy countered, returning his attention to Corey. "This plan is doomed. Zombies roam the planet, and reaching this supposed base is absolutely not going to be a walk in the park dammit. If we're going to survive, we'll increase our odds if we fight these dead fiends!"

"And then what smart-ass!? We can't keep killing these revenants forever!"

"My father is broken up about losing Junior, so I believe if we should force our way into the-"

"Hold it!" Ludwig cut in. "Who ever said you were going to make group's choices?"

"*moan* Can you all just stop fighting!?" Jennifer yelled.

The five survivors involved in the quarrel continued arguing with each other. Lucas, Anna, and Daniel tried to break up the fight, but they had no luck. Henry was sitting near the monorail station's entrance, bandaging his bite mark. He didn't want his friend to know that he was going to die soon. He was in a situation where he would be a burden to the others. He didn't want that. But he didn't want to kill himself either. He figured that he could after a while of travelling with the group, he would leave them and die alone. He wanted to help as much as possible, but he absolutely did not expect it to be like this.

It was only then that Bowser returned, disturbed by the fight between his kids, Jen, and Corey. He wasn't in the mood to go into rage mode. He pulled out his pistol, and aimed it towards the sky above him.

 **BLAM!**

The fight was broken up immediately. Everyone went silent, shocked and confused about what was happening. Bowser walked up to the others, saying only two words:

"Anna decides."

Surprised, Anna begins to think about whether Corey or Roy's plan would benefit everyone better. After a while, she came to a resolution.

"Let's go to that base."

Roy face palmed as everyone else walked northeast. _This bitch is getting us killed_ , he thought before joining the others.  
 **_**

Day Five: 2:23 PM

One hour ago, 'Sam' and Mario announced Kim's demise to the rest of the hospital survivors. Wes and Jordan sat on the gate's walkway, forlorn. Ashley did not talk to anyone for the rest of the day. Anthony felt miserable as he cremated Kim's body. The hospital was filled with gloom and despair. Even Conrad didn't feel like working out today. In spite of everyone's blue attitude, Peach was determined to get answers. She searched every room adjacent to the bathroom Kim was found in, but no blood stains, murder weapons, or evidence was found. So now, Peach was walking over to Yoshi's room, hoping he could give her good news about Yoshi's Island.

By the time she reached the room, she swiftly knocked four times.

"Hello? I'm here Yoshi."

Yoshi opened the door, a smile forming on his face as he did.

"Why, if it isn't Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Yoshi greeted the princess. "Come on in."

"Thank you." Peach replied, giving a curtsy upon entering.

Luigi was already waiting inside, reading Yoshi's copy of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Goombins. He put the book down as soon as Peach stepped inside.

"Hey Peach! Where's Mario?"

"He said he was too busy to come. Sam keeps going missing, so Mario is trying to oversee hospital matters."

"Oh, that's alright." Yoshi said, disappointed. "Anyway, I need to talk to you guys real quick about Yoshi's Island. It was overrun by a terrorist named Torin, and he's enslaved most of the island!"

"Oh no!" Peach exclaimed.

"How terrible!" Luigi reacted.

Yoshi continued to speak. "The only good thing going on there is that zombies haven't appeared on its shores. Torin is trying to import them to the island to punish rebels! I just wanted to warn you guys just in case he came here!"

"How'd you find us?" Peach asked.

"I followed your royal symbol trail. Wasn't it you who carved your insignia into those trees last year?"

"Of course! I remember visiting this hospital to see my poor father... That's why I lead Mario over here the other day Luigi."

"Really?" Luigi asked.

"Yes. Even though I was mad at him at the time, it was my intent to get here."

"Well anyway, I have to leave soon to try and sabotage Torin's shipment. Therefore, I ask you guys to help me."

Peach already had her mind made up.

"I would go with you my friend, but I can't. Someone got murdered today, and I need to stop whoever it is before he or she kills again."

"I'm staying too." said Luigi. "I can't leave knowing Daisy could die while I'm gone."

"Well, that's alright." Yoshi solemnly stated. "I'm not alone. There are a few other rebels back at Rogueport who will still help me."

A voice called from the hallway. It was Daisy.

"Well, I need to go." Luigi said, unnerved. "I'm sorry I can't help you Yoshi."

As Luigi left to see why Daisy called him, Peach also got up from her chair.

"I hope I haven't offended you." Peach remarked, hoping she did cause a problem with her friend. "I would love to help you and your cause, but the murderer is my main concern right now."

"No, you haven't." Yoshi replied. "I convinced a few of the other survivors here to join me at least. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't. Its their choice to leave with you. Sam won't mind either."

"Thank you Peach. It was good to see you again."

Yoshi warmly squeezed the Princess.

"You... Too!" said Peach.  
 **_**

Day Five: ?:? AM

Darkness...

Pure shade everywhere...

A cold dark room...

No sight; no joy anywhere...

A blindfold covering his eyes...

His white clothes, missing...

Hands cuffed to the back of the chair...

Thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit...

His brother, Darren...

A Psycho twin above him...

The doctor must escape...

Sam must protect Ashley...  
 **_**

Day Five: 8:07 PM

Everyone was sound asleep back at camp... everyone except Ludwig and Bowser. Ludwig sat on a rock outside his tent, wide awake. Dreams would not fly into his head tonight. Bags began to form under his eyes as he tried to think about his sister. He regretted everything bad he had done before this night. Chasing his siblings off, failing to save Junior, even murdering Phil. He just couldn't wrestle his demons.

Bowser was a wreck. Ever since his son, Lemmy died, everything went to hell in a hurry. He felt like a robot, or at least his feelings were minimized to a point where his personality became out of whack. He needed someone to talk to.

"Son, I have to show you something." he said to Ludwig.

"What?"

Bowser reached into his shell and pulled out a piece of slightly shredded notebook paper: E. Gadd's 101st memoir.

"What is this?" Ludwig asked, starting to read the piece of parchment. His eyes widened as he read more of the memoir... When he finished reading, he handed the notebook paper back to his father.

"Elvin Gadd... Kamek..."

"My adoptive father started this." Bowser said blankly. "I need to know where he is. Until I do, I just won't feel like myself again."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night Ludwig."

As Bowser wobbled back to his tent, Ludwig stared at a small pebble. He stared at it for ten minutes...

"Move dammit..."

...

...

...

The pebble flipped over.  
 **_**

 **If you don't understand this last part of the chapter, read Lost Chapter One. You'll learn a little more about what the deal is with Kamek, Alan, E. Gadd, and other supporting characters by reading the Lost Chapters.**

 **I threw "A Christmas Carol" into the chapter as a way of celebrating Christmas. Yeah. The first book of _A Ghastly Epidemic_ is over, but the story will continue in January 2018! Until then, keep yourselves busy and read some of my other titles.**

 _ **The Mario**_ **Zone (Mario Bros.)**

 _ **Adventures In Hypixel**_ **(Minecraft)**

 _ **The Trainer Chronicles**_ **(Pokemon)**

 **FinalMagus25**


	16. Chapter 14: Five For Nine

**Happy New Year guys! I know it has been awhile since that last time I wrote another chapter for this story, but here it is. It focuses solely on the hospital survivors. Don't worry though, because the next chapter focuses on Corey's group. I hope you guys are excited about 2018, because there will be a lot of surprises in store for you, and our survivors in _A Ghastly Epidemic_. Please leave a like/follow and a review and tell me what you think about this story so far. Enjoy!  
** **_**

 _Chapter Fourteen: Five for Nine_

Day Six: 9:01 AM

 _Another day, another cadaver._ Peach thought to herself cynically. _Just when you try to get over one person's death, another one arrives. If I don't figure out who's on this killing spree, I'll be a cynical hag for the rest of my life. Oh Peach, you need to stop feeling so negative..._

The princess and her plumber boyfriend, Mario stood in the middle of the main corridor, staring down at James, a cold and dead bastard. And yet, he was just another another innocent victim, caught in the plague of death. No one other than him knew who the murderer was, but before he could tell anybody, he got his guts spilled all over the floor. There was even a blood trail that originated from Storage Closet C, which by no surprise, led to where Mario stood now. The murder weapon was nowhere in sight; it was most likely buried under a rock by now.

Most of the survivors at the hospital who took a glimpse at the dead toad pissed their pants and fled. But Mario and Peach held their ground. Peach was going to find out who kill him and Kim if it was the last thing she did. The last thing everyone needed was a psycho killer who is impersonating his brother and killing a survivor every night for no goddamn reason. But alas, they had one.

Peach examined the stomach cut James sported for a minute.

"Yes Mario, he was disemboweled all right." Peach observed as if she was a homicide inspector. "And based on the size of his cut, he must've been sliced with a surgeon's knife."

"Wow." Mario replied, surprised. "Are you Shroomlock Holmes or something?"

"If you're Watson." Peach flirted, trying to light up the mood.

"Well it looks like we're gonna have to bury him. I don't want us to use up our supply of wood and enrage Sam."

Mario and Peach followed the blood trail back to Storage Closet C, two halls away. Peach decided to pop in a question she'd been meaning to ask Mario for a while now.

"Speaking of Sam, have you noticed he's been acting odd lately? He left you in charge of almost everything Mario, and he specifically made a deal that he would remain as the hospital's leader while we're here."

Mario thought back to yesterday, and then early this morning. Sam was a bit on edge, but then again, Kim was brutally murdered yesterday, and today it was James. And to think that zombies were their major issue at the moment.

"It's normal for people to feel jumpy and scared when someone they know dies." He answered her honestly. "This is probably just Sam's way of coping with death: withdrawal from responsibility."

"I guess you're right Mario. It's just I've never seen him act like this before..."

Peach couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she didn't truly believe Mario's logic. She felt as if something much more sinister was going on than that...

Mario and Peach arrived at Storage Closet C not too long after their conversation. Mario pulled a set of keys out of his back pocket, then he proceeded to unlock the door, but slowly. He was expecting something to jump out from the darkness, but when he opened the door and turned on the light, he didn't find anyone lurking from within. Mario and Peach searching everywhere for evidence, but all they found was the beginning of the blood trail.

"Damn, there's nothing here." Mario grunted, giving up on his search.

Peach was carefully looking through the blood sample catalog, but she found nothing. Not even that vial of Darren's blood that Kim happened upon before her death.

"This murderer must've covered his tracks so we couldn't find anything."

"Time for Plan B then." Mario sighed.

"Plan B?" Peach asked inquisitively. She was always a curious woman who had a talent for finding noteworthy items here and there.

"Trust me, you're going to like it. But first, we need to take care of James."

Unfortunately, it wasn't only James they had to deal with.  
 **_**

Day Six: 10:45 AM

"I can't believe he's dead." Wes said in shock. "I always thought of him as a racist jerk with long-term memory loss. It was just yesterday that I told him how I felt about his behavior."

Wes was on guard duty with Jordan again, who sniped at zombies from yards away. Jordan was in a wreck about Kim's death. For the past few days, they were becoming good friends and speaking ill of Samuel Welsh, especially of his stupid decision that almost got her, Wes, and Conrad killed a week ago. But Jordan never hung out with James, so honestly didn't how to feel about his death. But the loss of Kim impacted him quite a bit. She was the big sister he never had.

"I'm more upset about Kim." Jordan replied coldly. "When I find out the killer's identity, I'm gonna-"

 **BLAM!**

Jordan shot down a zombie from eight yards away. Wes understood how it felt to want revenge. He was separated from his mother when he was an adolescent, and by the time he was assimilated into the Koopa Army, she passed away from cancer. If he wasn't taken from his mom, she would've gotten the treatment she needed. But life is unfair, and no matter how much he wanted to kill King Bowser for passing the Teen-Soldier Act, he couldn't bring himself up to doing it.

"No crap." Wes responded. "I know what its like to want revenge. But if you kill someone, you start to feel as though a part of your soul is lost."

Jordan wasn't focusing on his conversation with Wes. Instead, he saw...

Survivors. Nine survivors were marching up towards the hospital, bright smiles on a few of their faces. Jordan lowered his sniper rifle.

"Wes, you need to see this."

He handed Wes the rifle, and when he looked through it, he understood what was going on.

"I'll get Mario!" Wes said, passing the rifle back to Jordan, and climbing down from the gate.  
 **_**

Day Six: 10:53 AM

Wes returned to the gate with Mario and Peach, exhausted from running there and back again. Jordan opened up the gate, revealing the survivor group that stood in front of them. A middle-aged toad strode over to the red plumber.

"Hello. You must be Mario! Its a pleasure to meet ya."

The toad enthusiastically shook Mario's hand. Virtually everyone knew who Mario and Luigi were, so it came as no surprise to him that the toad recognized him.

"My name's Mitchel Farley. My fellow survivors and I are refugees from Petalburg and Poshley Heights. I knew about this place's solar-powered capability, and I know that people would much rather go somewhere that was less densely populated, but I took the chance to come here."

Mario was beginning to get where Mitchel was going with this.

"I was hoping that you would be so kind as to let us live here with you and your group of survivors."

"O-okay then." Mario agreed.

Peach raised an eyebrow, confused with what Mario was doing.

"Excuse me Mario." she whispered in his left ear. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Hold on Mitch." Mario said. He turned his attention to Peach. "What?"

"There is a psycho on the loose! I understand that you're letting these people keep their weapons because you obviously didn't mention that to them, but we need to keep them safe."

"I'm on it, honey." Mario reassured his girlfriend.

Mario turned back towards Mitchel and his band of survivors.

"You guys can come and join us, but just know that we have a dire situation happening. We'll need you guys to be in your rooms by nine in the evening every night."

"What 'dire situation'?" Whitney, Mitchel's friend asked. "We all thought this was a safe haven."

"It was, but a murderer is on a rampage here. Recently, he just killed two of our survivors. All we know is that he kills at night, and in the early morning. Just remember to be on guard, because until we apprehend this maniac, everyone needs to stay on high alert."

Mitchel thought about what Mario told him, and after a moment of talking it over with his friends, he answered.

"Okay. We will join you people. Where can we find our rooms?"

Peach stepped forward.

"Let me show you around. Each room can hold up to two people, so if there are vacant rooms in hospital, you may take them."

Peach led Mitchel, Whitney, and the rest of his group on a tour of the hospital. Mario sighed with relief as he gestured for Wes and Jordan to go back to work. At least they wouldn't have to find James's corpse in the hallway now.  
 **_**

Day Six: ?:? PM

Sam struggled to wrench out of the chair he was tied to. His accursed brother, Darren put him here. He desperately needed to find a way out of this conundrum. He tried to move the chair with all of his might, but it was no use. He shivered, for he was stuck in his brother's basement with no articles of clothing to keep him warm. He started to panic; hallucinate. He wiggled harder, screaming for somebody to save him...

An unspecified amount of time later, Darren walked into the room, holding a flashlight and a nearly empty box of donuts.

"Brother, I brought you a DONUT." He said in a devilish voice, demented. "I may be crazy, but you know its not like me to let you starve..."

Darren pointed the flashlight at where Sam would be sitting, but all he found was a broken chair, and pieces of tattered rope.

"WAT DU FAQ!?" He screeched, throwing the donut across the room, then stomping back towards the basement stairs. "WHEN I FIND YOU SAM, I WILL PERSONALLY SHOW YOU HELL!"

But what Darren failed to notice was the sight of an open grate, one that led into the vents that circulated throughout the building.  
 **_**

Day Six: 1:09 PM

Using his binoculars, Luigi watched as Yoshi and his small band of followers walked off to Rogueport. He understood the importance of their mission, so he just wanted to see them off carefully. Daisy, his girlfriend was sitting at the front gate with him, bored. She and Luigi wanted to help Anthony clear zombies out of the hospital's second floor, but she had to get stuck here with Luigi instead. What a drag.

"Luigi, do you ever feel jealous of Mario for stealing the spotlight all the frigging time?"

"Believe it or not, I do." He answered, still watching Yoshi walk away. "But I can't worry about that right now. There's more to life than yearning to be noticed by fans, the paparazzi..."

Luigi's voice trailed off as Daisy shot down a zombie who walked into her line-of-sight.

"If only we weren't treated like sidekicks." Daisy rambled on. "I mean, I'm the princess of my own kingdom, but Peach always seems to take more of the credit. She doesn't even know how to defend herself properly! I can at least knock guy out cold, or at least beat one in a arm wrestling match."

"That's because you're a black belt in Pion Fu (Pionpi Kung Fu). Peach studied all sorts of school subjects while your family fought their way into the throne and saved Sarasaland a decade ago. I'm here for you Daisy. Just know that in my heart, you are more famous than Peach."

"Thanks Luigi." Daisy said as she reached over to hug him. "You're the best boyfriend any girl could want."

With that, Luigi and Daisy watched together as Yoshi and his three hospital followers hopped into a car Mario left for them, then drove away, leaving dust in their wake.  
 **_**

Day Six: 1:16 PM

 _One more room, then this floor is cleared._ , Juan thought to himself happily. He and Conrad were in the military together, two good friends. These two friends stood in front of the last room, revolvers in hand. The moment Juan gave the signal, Conrad would bust in, then they would cleanse this room of dirty corpses. Juan was staring into the door's window, looking for a sign of movement...

 ***Gurgle***

"Now!"

"Hyahhh!" Conrad yelled as he kicked at the door, wrenching it open. A score of walkers limped towards them, seeking the taste of fresh flesh.

Conrad and Juan were trigger-happy, shooting at the dead and hoping they would get put out of their misery. After what seemed like a minute of pulling the trigger endlessly, these soldiers stopped firing. Juan quickly flickered the room's light on, finding that he and Conrad killed every zombie inside. Blood stained the white, marble floor, oozing into the small cracks that couldn't be found. It was a quarantine zone.

"We did it!" Juan cheered with glee.

Anthony, Brooke, and Toad rushed over to stumble upon Juan and Conrad's achievement.

"Great job guys!" Anthony said. "Now we just have to find a way to clean up this entire floor."

Everyone else moaned, but were happy nonetheless. More of the hospital was accessible, and now more survivors could be accommodated. No more sharing rooms with somebody else!

"Come on guys." Anthony spoke. "We've got work to do."

But little did they know, Samuel Welsh was trapped in the ventilation nearby...  
 **_**

 **That's it. I know this chapter was shorter than I hoped it would be, but trust me. The farther you read into this story, the more suspenseful it becomes. Stay tuned for another chapter of _A Ghastly Epidemic_.**

 **FinalMagus25**


	17. Chapter 15: Hunting The Hunter

**Hello guys! Its me, FinalMagus25! Thank you guys for supporting this story and taking your time to read it. I know that there is this one guest in particular who doesn't appreciate that I do what he says I'm doing. I have a good reason for it. I just want this story to be an available option of a story for people to read. Usually, viewers on this website tend to read stories that are on the first page out of many, the area where people view the most recently created/updated stories. I don't want it to be left out, thus leaving out the chance for readers to have a look. Just in case this story doesn't appear the moment you enter the Mario Bros. Fanfiction list, search _A Ghastly Epidemic_. Thank you.**

 **So guys. I wanted to let you know that as soon as Chapter 26 is out, I will be creating a spin-off series called A Ghastly Epidemic: Garuda. I will let you guys know what exactly this story is about as soon as I reach the midway point of A Ghastly Epidemic, but to give you guys some perspective, it involves the hospital and Yoshi's Island at some point in the apocalypse. It will only have five chapters though, so one chapter will come out every month until I reach five chapters. I'm hoping to make the length of each of these chapters longer than the normal length of a chapter in this story. But anyway, back to this story. Let's see how Corey's group is faring.  
_**

 _Chapter Fifteen: Hunting the Hunter_

Day Six: 7:23 AM

The group had only two tents: Bowser's tent and Corey's tent. Only three people who hadn't sleep in a tent that night were Henry, Ludwig, and Bowser. However, it was only Henry who was filled with insomnia. He couldn't rest knowing that he could either reanimate in his sleep or cause zombies to come for Corey. He needed to be vigilant.

He was on the lookout for walkers, using Lucas's binoculars to scout the area. Several zombies were indeed around, but as soon as Henry spotted them, they were easily taken care of; killed with a safety knife. Henry has been practicing using melee techniques, and his knife was his greatest melee weapon. There was one zombie that died when he threw the knife at it. It was a shame though, because he believed he was going to die.

But little did he know, one of his fellow survivors was a target. Obviously, it was...  
 **_**

Day Six: 8:26 AM

The first person to wake from her slumber was Anna. It was her intention to procure food for the group, but sadly, the glade they were camped in had no foodstuffs. As soon as everyone woke up, she'd go foraging. Bowser, who slept at the edge of the woods, was the next to awaken from his slumber. It was strange, caring about people he didn't know. He wanted to do everything he can for the civilians and family he was traveling with, something he never cared about before. _Yup, I'm frigging insane..._ , Bowser told himself.

Corey and Roy were the next two people wake up. The two gave each other dirty looks, distrustful of each other. It was natural for a Mushroom Kingdom toad and a Koopa Kingdom koopa to despise each other, but their argument yesterday was pushing them to the boiling point. Everyone else except for Lucas was waking up at that point, so they started to take down the empty tent they slept in.

Corey pulled out her map of the Northeastern Mushroom Kingdom. They had no way of bringing their cars along for the ride, so they traveled all the way to this glade on foot yesterday. Tom's base was marked next to the Mushroom-Koopa Border, which would be almost a fortnight's walk from here. If they had a car, they could've reached the base in a day. _Dammit, we have to walk._ , Corey thought.

Roy was looking for undead enemies to shoot, trying to unwind. Corey's plan made no sense to him whatsoever. Their plan was to find a prophesized base Corey's dead boyfriend rambled on about, and nobody is really sure it exists? _I swear, this idiot is going to send us to hell._ , he believed.

His brother, Ludwig was in a jolly mood this morning. He felt like he could walk on water. In fact, maybe he could with his growing psychic powers. Why doesn't he and his siblings have wands you may ask? They were powered as long as Kamek charged them with magic. In any case, Bowser's castle was destroyed, obliterated by Lemmy's bombs. But that shocking incident was not getting him down. Nope. Not even Bowser's Jr.'s (not) death was going to ruin his happiness. He managed to make a pebble move with his mind last night. Tonight, he was going to try something else.

By the time Lucas woke up, Daniel, as meek as ever, was talking to Larry about the woods they were in.

"I swear, I've traveled through these woods before. I mean, there are terrifying piranha plants in secluded areas of the forest, but we can avoid them if I can just talk to Corey about it."

"Cool." Larry replied. "But I've got something else on my mind..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you do happen to know that I have three other living siblings, right?"

"Yes, you mentioned it was Wendy, Iggy, and Morton. And I heard about Bowser Jr., but what about your other brother?"

"Oh, Lemmy? He's been dead for about half a week now..."

"*gulp* Sorry I asked." Daniel concluded, instantly regretting his question.  
 **_**

Day Six: 8:39 AM

"Mark, do you see him?" came the whisper of a nearby yoshi witchdoctor, Jeremy.

"Yes, I have him in my sights." said Mark, a yoshi sniper. "I don't have an accurate shot though..."

"Well keep trying." said Jeremy. "I'm going to pray to my ancestors."

Jeremy turned around, hands clapped together. He bowed to the colossal stone landmark behind him. Very few witch-doctors still existed in Mario's world, and Jeremy was part of a long line of them. It was his intent that they got revenge on a member of Corey's group for killing other witch-doctors, or people accused of being witch-doctors in the past. Mark wanted to kill him for causing the death of his daughter.

And now, he had that chance...  
 **_**

Day Six: 8:45 AM

"Well everyone, we have to go now if we want to get to the base." Corey stated.

"A base that probably doesn't exist..." Roy muttered under his breath as he glimpsed a zombie mechanic in the distance, its nametag read 'Lester'. Without a second thought, he shot the zombie dead with his cannon. Everyone had their supplies packed, ready to follow the forest's trail. But for that split second, the hunter took his shot. From a distance, an armor-piercing bullet sped towards its target.

Bowser was knocked straight onto his back, screaming in agony. The bullet grazed his right cheek, green blood slowly trickled down the side of his face.

"Oh my god!" Larry yelled, afraid for his father's life.

"Run for cover!" Corey shouted, evacuating the group out of the area. Henry and Jennifer had to pull Bowser up before they fled. Corey's group brought everything with them except for their tents, which were shabby anyway considering they found them yesterday afternoon. Mark kept trying to shoot at the survivors, but his shots weren't accurate enough to hit their targets.

"Dammit!" Mark shouted. "I knew we were too far away."

"He's not dead!?" Jeremy shouted, who stopped praying. "Well, this is a problem..."  
 **_**

Day Six: 9:44 AM

The group stood at a fork in the road. Believing they finally escaped the sniper, Corey had her group take a rest, laying low for a moment. Anna was bandaging Bowser's scar, Corey was assessing the situation they were in, and of course, Roy was arguing with her again. Henry was faced with a decision of whether to leave Corey now and spare her group misery, or stay and risk the chance of reanimating.

While all of this was going on, Ludwig was meditating, focusing on whether the group should turn left or right. If the group chose the left path, they could escape whoever was hunting them. But if they went to the right, they'd encounter them.

"Corey, we can't just let these assassins take us out!" Roy argued. "We're going to the right."

"No, we're going left." Corey spoke as quietly as possible. "If we have any hopes of making it to the base, we should avoid these people as much as possible."

"You wanna die bitch!?"

"You wanna die dumbass!?"

Ludwig aimed his pistol at the sky.

 **BLAM!**

Corey and Roy stared at him as he walked over to the two.

"How about we split up?"

"ARE YOU UNHINGED!?" Both of them whispered.

"No, you two are. If you can't agree on something, make a compromise. Corey will take Father and whoever else to the left, and you, Roy will take a few people with you to the right path."

Corey and Roy looked at each other, surprised. They shook hands, agreeing with Ludwig's strategy.

Corey took Bowser, Anna, Ludwig, Lucas, and Larry to the left. Roy took everyone else to the right.  
 **_**

Day Six: 10:01 AM

Nearby piranha plants were chewing on zombie remains. Jeremy took his magical amulet from his wanderlust bag, prepared to protect himself. Even if zombies weren't a problem for him and Mark, the strangers they shot at would definitely put them in a difficult situation.

"Mark, I hear footsteps not too far from here. Stand back."

Jeremy took a mystical totem out of his bag, then he stabbed it into the ground in front of him.

"What the hell's a doll going to do to them?" Mark asked, bothered by Jeremy's sudden action.

"It's not a doll." he riposted. "It is a totem of great, protective power. You'll see..."

Jeremy and Mark ran off, and after a few minutes, Roy's team were passing by.

"Come on slow pokes!" Roy yelled for them to shake a leg. "Do you want these fools to escape unscathed?"

But when Roy was about to pass the totem, a great, magical wall sprouted from it! It sent the Koopaling flying into a nearby shrub.

"OUCH! F***!"

"What the-" Henry said, perplexed.

"Guys, we need to go around." Jennifer commanded. "Go! GO! GO!"

Jennifer carefully ran off trail, and into the woods, hoping to catch up to their attackers that way. Henry followed right behind her. They dashed for a hectameter, until a disturbing obstacle caught them off guard and stopped Jen in her tracks. An army of wild Piranha plants stood in their way. Like most others of their kind, they could reach reckless survivors from up to 6 feet away. There was no way across. Jeremy and Mark escaped...

Or did they?

Back at the totem wall, Daniel slowly pulled Roy up, quickly remembering where their assailants' trail went to. By then, Jennifer and Henry were running back.

"Roy, I know where they're headed. Please follow me."

Before Roy could respond, Daniel scurried back down the path he came from. Roy followed him, and then Henry and Jen.  
 **_**

Day Six: 11:02 AM

Jeremy also knew this forest's trails. He got this sixth sense of where people were going as he was raised to be a witchdoctor. The two yoshis were chasing after Corey's group, taking a shortcut. He and Mark were on the trail for about an hour, running until they were nearing a cliff at a curve in the trail. Jeremy felt someone's presence.

"Mark, King Bowser is just up ahead! Now you just have to-"

"RUN!" he screamed.

Roy and Daniel were on their tails, with Jen and Henry in pursuit. Jeremy and Mark reached the cliff, but before they could make the turn...

 **Blam!**

Jeremy turned around, only to find Mark fall off the cliff, a bullet bill lodged in his head. He began to breathe heavily, sweat violently; shiver. His revenge was short lived. He lost his ally to his target's son, and now he was next. He was in a game of quick draw. Him versus Roy. Who would be the first to make a move?

Jeremy lifted his amulet up at the four, and then he waved it left to right, chanting in an ancient tongue only his people knew. Henry not feeling so well, fainted, while Jennifer, staring at 'lumas', fell asleep. Roy was retching as if he was dying, and in a horrible manner too. Daniel saw his family, hovering up past the cliff. His parents were smiling, his siblings waved at him happily, and his girlfriend puckered her lips, waiting to get smooched. He walked over to his family, eager to be with them again...

But he found it was only an illusion. The next thing the shy guy knew, he was free falling, taking a leap of faith. By the time he hit the bottom, he discovered that the faith was false, before completely ceasing to move...

Henry snapped out of his fainted state, and aimed at his gun at Jeremy. He fired.  
 **_**

Day Six: 11:13 AM

Corey left her group to find the rest of her friends at the cliff-side, drowsy. She stared down the bottom of the cliff in horror, discovering Mark and Daniel at the bottom, one with an over-sized bullet in his head, and the other with a broken spine. She quickly looked away to see if her fellow survivors were okay. Jennifer and Roy had passed out from Jeremy's hocus pocus act. Henry stood on his knees, taking deep breaths to keep himself from losing his sanity.

"Henry, are you okay?" She said in worry. "What happened?"

"The witchdoctor... He got away."

"What witchdoctor?"

"He..."

Henry seemed out of it, but continued to talk nonetheless.

"...was one of the two people who tried to kill Bowser. Instead, he killed Daniel."

Corey was in shock, scared out of her mind. She didn't want to press the subject any further. Without a second thought, she and Henry got up and awoken the two sleeping survivors; carrying them over to the others.

In the woods, the withdoctor yoshi observed as Corey, Henry, Jennifer, and Roy pressed on, until they were out of his sight.  
 **_**

 **That's it for Chapter Fifteen. Thank you for reading, and as always, don't forget to leave a like/follow and a review!**

 **FinalMagus25**


	18. Characters, Deaths, and Kills

**List of characters in _A Ghastly Epidemic_ :**

 **Note: Unknown (not known if alive or dead) characters are italicized, dead are underlined, and undead are both italicized and underlined. Living characters don't have features. Also, only the deaths of named/living people count for kill points. Deaths of unnamed zombies don't count for kill points. Also, until I finish this story (the first part of a multi-part series with spin-offs in between), don't review on this page!  
_**

Mario's Family: Mario, Luigi

Toadstool Family: Peach

Toad Town Residents: Henry, Toad, Tyler, Brooke, Lucas, Anthony, Rebecca, Jordan, Gordon, Yoshi, _Amelia_ , _Tanya_ , Toadette, Tom, Cherry, Remy, Peter, Toadsworth, _Alan_

Sarasaland: Daisy

Subcon: _Subcon_

Corey's Family: Corey, Anna, Lewis

Koopa Family: Bowser, Ludwig, Morton Jr., Roy, Wendy, Larry, Iggy, Bowser Jr., Lemmy, Morton

Hotel Mario Survivors: Jennifer, Daniel, Harold, Lawrence, Constance, Brian

Bowser's Castle: _Kamek_ , Phil, Yager

St. Toadsworth's Hospital and Medical Center Survivors: Sam, Ashley, Conrad, Jonah, Ginny, Silas, Akiro, David, Solomon, James, Kim, Rane, Mike, Lloyd, Ronald, Eddie

Flight 567 Plane Crash Survivors: Wes

Mitchel's Group: Mitchel, Whitney, Gale, Rocco, Iselia, Dominic, Jorge, Brianna, Fred

Misc. Survivors: Jeremy, _E. Gadd_ , Mark, Montgomery, Vanya

Named Zombies: Lester, Jean, Winston  
 **_**

 **Book One Main Characters (March 2017 - December 2017):**

Mario: A red-clothed plumber who wants to protect others as long as the methods available to him are lawful. He is Princess Peach's boyfriend, and he has a temper.

Henry McCallister: A koopa who got fired from his job as a journalist. He cares about others, especially his best friend, Lucas and a toad police officer, Corey.

Peach Toadstool: The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. She has a good memory, tries to help her friends in any way she can, and is Mario's girlfriend.

Luigi: A green-clothed plumber; Mario's brother. He is Princess Daisy's boyfriend, and tries to help Mario however he can, even if he sometimes opposes to his ideas.

Corey Kopper: A toad policewoman who is Tom's girlfriend and partner. Corey is a natural leader, but she will sometimes be negative.

Bowser Koopa: The King of the Koopa Kingdom. Bowser is an antagonist to Mario, an asshole, and sometimes an overbearing father. Regardless, family is his priority.

Lucas Goomp: Henry's best goomba friend. A former power plant employee, Lucas is strong, can be quick to act, and scared of heights.

Toad Shum: A Toad Town resident, as well as a good friend of the Mario Brothers. Toad is scared as heck, but he has a few skills under his belt.

Samuel Welsh: A doctor, and leader of the Toadsworth Hospital Survivor Camp.

Daisy: The Princess of Sarasaland, as well as Luigi's girlfriend.

Tom Toadswell: Corey's boyfriend and partner. He is supportive of Corey, and he even becomes good friends with Henry and Lucas.

Ludwig von Koopa: Bowser's eldest son. He recently discovers he has strange, psychic powers.

Larry Koopa: Bowser's youngest son. He helps others, a gregarious fellow.

Wes Sirius: A young war veteran who is protective of himself and others.

Jordan Camino: A shy guy who lost his parents at the start of the apocalypse.

 **Book Two Main Characters (January 2018-):**

Everyone from Book One (excluding Tom Toadswell)

Anthony: A former member of Princess Peach's Royal Guard.

Brooke: A former royal guard and hair stylist.

Roy Koopa: Bowser's third son, who although he wishes to stop the apocalypse, he is opposed to Corey's plans.

Anna Kopper: Corey's younger sister, whom she rescued from Hotel Mario.

Conrad Gibson: A hospital survivor who despises Sam for trapping him and other survivors in a zombie-infested zone.

Darren Welsh: Samuel Welsh's psycho killer brother. He has an incurable, mental illness, which is why he was originally kept in the hospital's basement floor.

Jennifer: Anna's neighbor from Hotel Mario, who was rescued by Corey's group.

Mitchel Farley: A retired electrician who leads his group to take refuge in St. Toadsworth's Hospital.

Akiro Konami: A pionpi who works for Sam at the hospital.

Jeremy: A Yoshi witchdoctor who encounters Corey's group, then Luigi on a supply run.

Juan Giovanni: Conrad's friend, who helps to clear walkers from the hospital's second floor.  
 **_**

 **Chapter 1 Deaths:**

Several unnamed scientists were killed in destruction of the nuclear power plant. Killed by E. Gadd (Indirectly Caused), Kamek (Caused)

 **Chapter 2 Deaths:**

Many unnamed toads, koopas, goombas, etc. were bitten/devoured by zombies. Killed by Zombies (36 pts)

Peter was devoured. Killed by Zombies

 **Chapter 3 Deaths:**

Remy was severely burned by the explosion of the Toad Town Power Plant. Killed by E. Gadd (Indirectly Caused), Kamek (Caused)

(Zombified - Remy) was stabbed in the head. Killed by Lucas.

An unnamed resident was devoured. Killed by Zombies.

Alan, Cherry, and seventeen unnamed police officers were killed. Killed by Zombies (19 pts)

(Zombified - Cherry) was shot in the head. Killed by Corey (Out of Mercy)

 **Chapter 4 Deaths:**

-None-

 **Chapter 5 Deaths:**

2 Unnamed Hammer Bros. were bitten by zombies, then devoured. Killed by Zombies (2 pts)

Doctor Yager was fatally bitten in the arm, died of blood loss. Stabbed in the head to prevent reanimation. Killed by Zombies, Wendy (Before Reanimation)

Phil was thrown into the lava moat. Killed by Ludwig.

Lemmy was bitten in the shoulder, died of infection. Killed by Zombies, Phil (Caused)

(Zombified - Lemmy) was shot in the head. Killed by Bowser (Out of Mercy)

 **Chapter 6 Deaths:**

Flashback - Jordan's parents were killed during the Toad Town incident. Killed by Zombies (2 pts)

Toadsworth died off chapter by cancer (Two years ago). Killed by None.

 **Chapter 7 Deaths:**

Brian was pushed off of Hotel Mario. Killed by Bowser Jr., Himself (Caused)

An unnamed survivor was devoured. Killed by Zombies

 **Lost Chapter 1:**

-None-

 **Chapter 8 Deaths:**

Jordan told Sam that he and Mario failed to save Ronald, who was devoured during a supply run. Killed by Zombies, Mario/Jordan (Indirectly Caused)

Tom broke his leg in a car accident, was bitten in the thigh, and then he later died of blood loss. Stabbed in the head before reanimation. Killed by Zombies, Corey (Accidental, Caused, Before Reanimation, Out of Mercy, 2 pts.)

Lloyd was killed by a zombie in a basement area. Killed by Zombies, Sam (Indirectly Caused)

Eddie was killed by zombies off chapter. Killed by Zombies, Sam (Caused)

(Zombified - Lloyd) was shot in the head. Killed by Wes

Mike was bitten in the neck by a zombified Lloyd, and was stabbed in the head before reanimation. Killed by Lloyd (Zombified), Conrad (Before Reanimation), Sam (Indirectly Caused)  
_

 **Chapter 9 Deaths:**

Flashback - Vanya was shot through the mouth. Killed by Jordan

Flashback - Montgomery was shot in the chest. Stabbed in the head before reanimation. Killed by Vanya (Accidental), Jordan (Before Reanimation, Out of Mercy)

Flashback - The pilot, co-pilot, air line waitress, and all of the passengers (excluding Wes) were killed in the plane crash. Killed by Zombies (42 pts.)

 **Chapter 10 Deaths:**

Rane was devoured by zombies on a supply run. Killed by Zombies.

(Zombified - Winston) was stabbed in the head. Killed by Mario.

An unnamed koopa survivor was partially devoured. Stomped in the head to prevent reanimation. Killed by Zombies, Bowser (Before Reanimation, Out of Mercy)

Toadette died of an infection off chapter. Killed by Zombies.

(Zombified - Toadette) was shot in the head. Killed by Luigi (Out of Mercy).

 **Chapter 11 Deaths:**

Flashback - King Morton of the Koopa Kingdom was badly injured in a car accident, got severe head trauma. Killed by unknown driver.

Lewis Kopper died of old age. Killed by None.

 **Chapter 12 Deaths:**

Constance was devoured. Killed by zombies.

(Zombified - Jean) was set ablaze. Killed by Bowser

Lawrence was eaten alive. Killed by Zombies, Bowser Jr. (Caused)

Harold was killed off-chapter. Killed by zombies.

(Zombified - Harold) was shot in the head. Killed by Jennifer (Out of Mercy)

 **Lost Chapter 2 Deaths:**

-None-

 **Chapter 13 Deaths:**

Kim was impaled through the head with a scalpel. Killed by Darren.

 **Chapter 14 Deaths:**

James was disemboweled with a surgeon's knife, then messily dragged into the hospital's main corridor. Killed by Darren.

Wes's mother died off chapter due to cancer of an unspecified kind. Killed by None, Bowser (Caused).

 **Chapter 15 Deaths:**

(Zombified - Lester) was shot through the head. Killed by Roy

Mark's head was bashed in. Killed by Roy

Daniel was hypnotized into falling off a cliff, thus dying. Killed by Jeremy, Roy (Caused), Bowser (Indirectly Caused)  
 **_**

 **Kill Points (Organized in point order, then A-Z order. Living/unknown characters are bolded):**

Zombies - 115

 **Bowser** \- 5

 **Corey** \- 3

 **Jordan** \- 3

 **Roy** \- 3

 **Sam** \- 3 (Caused/Indirectly Caused)

 **E. Gadd** \- 2+ (All Indirectly Caused)

 **Kamek** \- 2+

 **Bowser Jr.** \- 2

 **Darren** \- 2

 **Mario** \- 2

Brian - 1 (Including Himself, Caused)

 **Conrad** \- 1 (Before Reanimation)

 **Jennifer** \- 1 (Out of Mercy)

 **Jeremy** \- 1

Lloyd - 1 (Zombified)

 **Lucas** \- 1

 **Ludwig** \- 1

 **Luigi** \- 1

Phil - 1 (Caused)

Vanya - 1 (Accidental)

 **Wendy** \- 1

 **Wes** \- 1  
 **_**

 **Note: This is only a draft of what has happened so far. People marked as unknown are possibly alive/dead/undead. Also the + sign indicates that the marked person has killed more than the designated number, but it is unknown how many more they killed.**

 **Special thanks to the following people (A-Z order):**

Anthony (my friend who gave me ideas for writing this story)

ArcanetheGreat (summer partner/brother)

Cage The Elephant

Daughtry

Guests (as well as any other people who read my story)

Junior BLD

RainbowYoshi4Life

Magikoopa981

Maroon 5

My Family

Weezer  
 **_**

 **FinalMagus25**


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